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HISTORY 



33P. IOWA INFANTRY 



VOLUNTEER REGIMETsT 



18 6 3-6 



BY A": F. SPEllRY 



MILLS * COUrANY i« COUltT AT»:t>l 



)454 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-six, by 

MILLS & COMPANY, 

in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States, in and for 
the District of Iowa. 




JHI.M A COMPANT, 

PBINTKIW, 

DBS H0IITB8. IOWA. 



PREFATORY. 



In presenting this history of our Regiment to my fellow-soldiers of lh« 
'iod Iowa Infantry, I hope their memories while reading, may be as warm 
ami pleasant as have been mine wliile writing it. 

For whatever of omission or error it contains, I have only to say, tliat the 
whole was written amidst the very press of editorial and many other duties, 
and a very great part of it after nine o'clock at night. The work is as well as 
I could make It under the circumstances. 

Much of monotony may be ascribed to the sameness of the events to b« 
described; and many omissions may be accounted for by lack of data which 
others should have furnished, as requested, and as they promised to do. 

And hoping this volume may but bring more vividly to memory, the times 
we have passed together in our noble old Ilegiment, I am, 

Very Respectfully, 

A. F. SPERRY. 
PAXoaA, loWA, April 21th, ISCG. 



tScT 



i '^(.X.. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
From Home to St. Louis 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Fkosi St. Lours to Helena 8 

CHAPTER IIL 
Clearing out the Yazoo Pass 10 

CILVPTER IV. 
The Yazoo Pass Expedition 16 

CHAPTER V. 
At Helbna 23 

CH.VPTER VI. 
The Battle of Helena 27 

CHAPTER VII. 
The Little Rock Expedition 35 

CHAPTER VIIL 

Little Rock 46 

CHAPTER IX. '' 
Winter in Arkansas 52 

CHAPTER X. 
The Camden Expedition 60 

CHAPTER XL 
The Retreat from Camden 80 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry 90 

CHAPTER XIIL 
Little Rock Again 91 

CH(1PTER XIV. 
Camp and Garrison 100 

CHAPTER XV. 
To Fort Smith and Back 103 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Rest a Little and Off Again 116 

yii. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
Down South 120 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
To Spanish Fort _ 128 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Siege of Spanish Fokt 134 

CHAPTER XX. 
Hither and Thither 148 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Up the Tombigbee 138 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Delay and Disappointmeht 167 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Darkness to Light 174 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Home Again 18^1 

APPENDIX. 

Field and Staff Officers 197 

Casualties 198 

Roster of the Regiment 205 

Promotions 219 

Official Reports • 225 



VUl. 



CHAPTER I. 



FROM HOME TO ST. LOUIS. 

The 33d Iowa Infantry Hegiment was organized under the 
Presidential call of June, 1S62, for additional volunteers to aid 
in putting down the Great Rebellion. The number and place 
of rendezvous of the regiment were designated, with those of 
other regiments from the State under the same call, by procla- 
mation of Governor Kirkwood; and after some uncer- 
tainty, Samuel A. Rice, of Oskaloosa, then Attorney General 
of the State, was appointed its colonel. 

The mean date of the filling up and organization of the 
companies was about the 20th of August. The companies 
which, some time after reaching rendezvous, were lettered as 
A, I and G, were from Marion County; B, F and H from 
Keokuk County, and C, D, E and K from Mahaska County. 
The roll of the regiment in full, will be found in the Appendix. 

The manner of organizing the companies was much like that 

used for other regiments. Persons more than ordinarily 

patriotic or ambitious, obtiiined recruiting commissions from 

the Governor, and by personal solicitation among their 
o 



2 FROM HOME TO ST. LOUIS. 

acquaintances and others, obtained the requisite number of 
enlistments. Public meetings were held ; and the already 
deep and intense patriotic excitement was fanned and 
strengthened by speeches, songs, martial music, and all other 
available and proper means. But a brief effort was required. 
In most cases, those who had recruited the companies received, 
by common consent, the first positions, and the remaining 
company-officers were tilled by election. 

The Fair Grounds just north-west of the city of Oskaloosa, 
were selected as the place of rendezvous, and named Camp 
Tuttle, in honor of Brigadier-General J. M. Tuttle, of Iowa. 
"Within the first week of September all the companies arrived 
there ; and in a few days each of them had erected its own 
barracks, from lumber furnished by the Government. The 
barracks were of uniform style: — square, or nearly so; of 
rough boards, unpainted, without floors, windows or chimnies, 
and lined around the inside with tiers of bunks. Each bar- 
rack contained one company. 

The first duty of the regiment was to learn the drill. With 
no previous military experience. Colonel Rice applied himself 
to the study of the regulations and tactics with such intense 
and unremitting attention that he soon made himself an 
excellent drill-master ; and he always gave his personal care 
and effort to the instruction of the regiment. From four to 
eight hours a day were devoted to this ; and it was not long 
till the result was apparent in the discipline and proficiency of 
the command. 

Meanwhile, there were frequent parties of visitors to camp — 
the relatives and friends of the regiment ; and the good cheer 
and delicacies that so abounded then were remembered many 
a time afterward, when the perils and privations of a soldier's 
life were no more prospective, but present realties. There was 



FROM HOME TO ST. LOUIS. 6 

vcrj'' naturally, much grumbling at the fare and circumstances 
ill Camp Tuttle; but after the regiment had seen a year or two 
of active service, and knew what hardships really were, it was 
a common remark among us that if we were only back at 
Camp Tuttle, we would make ourselves comfortable as clams 
at high tide. 

Late in the afternoon of the 4th day of October, our regiment 
was mustered into the United States service, by Lieutenant 
Chas. J. Ball, of the Ilegular Army. It was an impressive 
scene. The day was clear and beautiful; and as the mellow 
rays of the sun approached more nearly to the horizon, the 
men were drawn up in long double lines in camp, and the 
necessary examinations followed. Several who were now 
rejected, were nevertheless determined to go with us ; and 
did go with us, and made as good and efficient soldiers as 
any of the rest. The examination over, the clear and ringing 
voice of Lieutenant Ball pronounced the oath of enlistment, 
the upraised hands fell to the position of "attention;" and the 
33d Iowa Infantry, was part of the great United States Army. 

As speedily as possible the regiment was supplied with 
clothing, arms and equipments. The guns first furnished 
were the smooth-bore muskets, which some months afterward 
were exchanged for Enfield rifles. A brass band, under the 
leadership of acting Drum-Major A. L. Ellis, was organized 
and put on drill; and it continued to play, upon occasion, 
until the commencement of the Yazoo Pass Expedition, when 
it failed entirely ; and from that time all attempts to revive it, 
or to organize another, proved utterly unsuccessful — or rather, 
tlicre was never much earnest efibrt made in that direction. 
Our dress-parades in Camp Tuttle were frequently attended by 
crowds of spectators ; and often the line of the battalion itself 
would be so long there was not room for it inside the camp- 



4 FROM HOME TO 8T. LOUIS. 

ground. Greatly in contrast with tliis was the thinned and 
shortened line which remained to us after three years of 
service. 

On Thursday morning, the 20th of November, we left Camp 
Tuttle, under orders "for active service in the field." A large 
concourse of relatives and friends had gathered to say good- 
bye. Such partings come but once in a life-time, 

"Who could guess 
If evermore should meet those mutual ryes?" 

But cheerfully, buoyantly, the regiment marched away, 
strong in the consciousness of a great and noble cause. If they 
should return, this day would yet be re-called with pride and 
pleasure; if they should fall— but that they left to Ilim who 
guides the destinies of nations and of men. 

The march to Eddyville, ten miles, over a muddy road, 
under knapsacks which bore down heavily on unaccustomed 
shoulders, was one of the hardest we ever had. Taking the 
cars at Eddyville we reached Keokuk that evening; and at 
about ten p. m., to the music of our brass band playing on the 
deck of the steamer Northerner, we bade adieu to Iowa. 
Now came our first experience of that stowing away of sol- 
diers like freight in a boat, which afterward became so familiar 
that nothing better was expected. Yet that very stowing and 
packing away of human beings in this manner, even leaving 
entirely out of view the greatly increased risk of accident, has 
caused more suffering and death than many a hard-fought 
battle. 

Passing down the river without any very remarkable inci- 
dents, we reached St. Louis in the night of the 21st. Colonel 
Rice reported to Major-General Curtis, then in command 
there ; and next morning we marched through town up to 
Schofield Barracks, near Fremont's residence, on Chateau 



FROM HOME TO ST. LOUIS. 5 

Avenue. Accustomed to the manifestations of Interest at 
Oskaloosa, we were somewhat vexed that there was almost no 
appearance of welcome for us in St. Louis. But General Cur- 
tis, as we marched past him in cadenced step of regular 
rythmic fall, complimented the appearance of the regiment 
very highly. 

For want of room, Companies G and B were separated from 
the rest, and assigned to quarters two or three squares distant. 
Company H was detailed on provost-duty ; and the remainder 
of the regiment was put on guard at the Gratiot Street and 
^Myrtle Street Military Prisons, under the general supervision 
of Colonel Rice. The duty was rather hard for raw soldiers ; 
and soon there was much sickness in the regiment. The con- 
dition of the barracks — which, heated up at night, grew cold 
and chilly before morning — was undoubtedly one of the 
causes of disease. 

Drills came once in a while, and parade occasionally; but 
guard-mounting was by fiir the most important ceremony of 
the day. The pass system was somewhat strict ; but most of 
us found means, nevertheless, to circulate about town quite 
freely. There were but few excesses committed, however; 
and tlie regiment was much praised, as the most quiet and 
orderly one that had been in the city. So passed our brief 
period of "fine soldiering." There was hard duty hero, in 
some respects, but there was "style" and convenience; and 
the days of really " active service " were yet to come. 



CHAPTER II. 



FROM ST. LOUIS TO HELENA. 

Saturday night, the 20th of December, we lay down in our 
bunks to sleep, as usual. Thoughts of the pleasant soldiering 
in the city, yet in store for us, were common in many minds, 
as it seemed to be the general opinion that we would remain 
in St. Louis, for some time. But about mid-night a "change 
came o'er the spirit of our dreams." There was a general 
waking-up in the barracks; and the cause of it was an orderly 
going the rounds to notify the regiment to "be ready to 
leave, to-morrow morning at 8 o'clock, for down the river." 
Active service was coming now. Well, no regiment was more 
ready or able for it than we. 

Next morning hurried letters were written home, ere we left 
what seemed to us our last hold on civilization ; and at 8 a. m. 
we embarked on board the steamer Ilowena. In the morn- 
ing of the 24th, we landed at Columbus, Kentucky. An 
attack was expected here, and we were to help repel it. 
Piling overcoats and knapsacks on the levee, we marched out 
on the "bottom" below town, and formed line of battle. 
Remaining in line till about the middle of the afternoon, we 
were ordered to throw up breast-works. At this, our first 
attempt toward fortification, we worked faithfully till some 



ST. LOUIS TO HELENA. 7 

time in the night, and then tumbled down to sleep, without 
shelter, as we were. 

Things now began to seem, to us green hands, very much 
like soldiering. To make the ease more agreeable, a heavy 
rain fell during the night; and next morning the ground we 
slept on was several inches under water. The hydrostatic bed 
may be a great luxury, but doubtless much depends on the 
manner in which the principle is applied. 

Next day was Christmas. We passed it in waiting for the 
attack, but no attack came. Mr. Forest seemed to have 
changed his mind. In a few days our new wedge tents were 
erected, and we were therefore better fixed. But on New 
Year's morning, the regiment was ordered out to Union City 
Tennessee, to meet an attack expected there. After our arri- 
val there, in the evening, the alarm was sounded, all rushed 
to arms, and battle seemed imminent, but nothing really 
happened. Some tiring by our own men was the cause. 

Union City was a nice little place, and our men remembered 
it with pleasure. Perhaps, one reason of their liking, was 
the fact that it abounded with meat, chickens, bread, potatoes 
and other eatables; and we there took our first lessons in forag- 
ing — lessons well learned and fully remembered, to the sorrow 
of many a sneaking old rebel who was "just as good a Union 
man as any body." 

While there, one of our men accidently shot off the end of 
his finger; and Doctor Scott, our assistant surgeon, was called 
on to amputate it. Having none of the customary instru- 
ments at hand, the doctor immediately seized a chisel and 
mallet, and performed the operation at a single blow. Much 
fun was made of it afterward; but the actual results were 
apparently as satisAictory as though the amputation had been 
done in the regular professional way. 



8 ST. LOUIS TO HELENA. 

Companies A, F and I, were stationed out about a mile from 
Union City, to guard a bridge, until tlie 3d of January, 1863, 
when the whole regiment returned to Columbus. On the 7th 
we were ordered to leave, and struck tents and got ready. 
After waiting for some hours, contrary orders were received, 
the tents were put up again, and we staid till morning. 

Then, being stowed away on the steamer John D. Perry, 
we started to follow the general progress of the war, down the 
river. About noon of Sunday, the 13th, we reached Helena, 
Arkansas, which place some of the boys profanely denomi- 
nated " Hell-in-Arkansas " — a name more intimate acquain- 
tance, inclined to justify; and leaving the boat as soon as we 
could, in mud and discomfort, we pitched our tents on a 
devastated garden in the center of the town. 

Next morning a more suitable place having been found, our 
camp was moved to the bank of the river, some half-a-mile 
south of town. Ordered from Columbus to form part of the 
expedition then organized to move against Arkansas Post, our 
regiment had arrived at Helena behind time; and as the Post 
was then too nearly stripped of defense. Colonel Bussey, the 
commandant, detained us there. 

Mud and misery were now the order of the day, with rain, 
snow, cold and discomfort for variations. We wondered if it 
always stormed at Helena. On the 24th, orders came for us to 
prepare five day's cooked rations, and hold ourselves in imme- 
diate readiness to start for Vicksburg. The next day, Sunday, 
saw us busily occupied all the time in cooking meat, baking 
up the flour already issued, and generally getting ready. The 
boats were there, the order was positive, and we were sure 
the wishes of many of us to "get into an actual battle 
and see how it seemed" were likely to be realized. But we 



ST. LOUIS TO HELENA. 9 

never started, some thing or other changed the state of the 
case, and there we remained. 

These were not the most pleasant days in the world, oven for 
soldiers. Though it seemed to rain most of the time, yet the 
cold was frequently severe ; and for want of any better accom- 
modation, we had to go to the woods and gather brick- 
bats, pieces of wood, &c., and make chimneys to our tents. 
Teams were scarce — for us, at any rate — and we were com- 
pelled to go into the cypress swamps, some half-a-mile from 
camp, and bring up the wet wood on our backs, to burn. 
The mud was excessive; and as we were not yet provided 
with rubber blankets, and had not learned, by three years of 
soldiering, how to do without almost every thing, and "fix 
up " in any circumstances, we were of course decidedly 
uncomfortable. 

But this state of things was not to last forever. While we 
were here, General Grant passed down the river to Vicksburg, 
with a portion of his army. The sight of the fleet loaded with 
troops, with colors flying, bands playing, and men shouting 
and cheering, was a new and grand one to us ; and to the great 
displeasure of Colonel Rice, the regiment all broke camp and 
scattered up and down the levee, to get a better view. Full 
many a hour of extra duty was the penalty. Some thought 
this was paying too dearly for the first view of the "pomp 
and circumstance" of war, when we soon found ourselves on 
a fleet, and part of an army, and helping too, though distantly, 
in the reduction of Vicksburg. 



CHAPTER III. 



CLEARING OUT THE PASS. 

By inspection of the map one will see that the Coldwater 
River of Mississippi, empties into the Tallahatchie, and this 
into the Yazoo River, which enters the Mississippi, a few miles 
above Vicksburg. Seven miles below Helena, on the eastern 
side of the river, there opens from the Mississippi to the Cold- 
water, a narrow channel, called the Yazoo Pass. Two miles 
inland it enters a beautiful sheet of water, which from its 
crescent shape, is named Moon Lake; and apparently passing 
through the lake, it continues to the river. 

The Pass, though very deep, is but about 60 feet wide on an 
average. Formerly, it is said, very small craft occasionally 
were run on it, transporting cotton and plantation supplies; 
but later, the State of Mississippi had cut it off from the 
Mississippi River by a levee, to prevent its overflowing the 
low and level country through which it passes. General 
Grant, finding it necessary to use all means for the reduction 
of Vicksburg, had determined to attempt to open a communi- 
cation to the Yazoo River, through this Pass; and for this 
purpose an expedition was organized. 

On the 1st of February, 1863, a small detail from the differ- 
ent regiments at Helena, went down and cut the levee at the 

I 



CLEARING OUT THE PASS. 11 

hoad of the Pass. The Mississippi was tlien very liigh ; and 
the swift waters rushed through the narrow opening so fiercely 
as to flood the adjacent swanaps. On the 9th of the month, 
our regiment went down to Moon Lake, on a "mosquito 
boat" and small transports, to join other troops in clearing 
out the Pass, that it might be more nearly fit for navigation. 
The rebels below us had felled trees across and into the chan- 
nel, to obstruct the expedition as much as possible; and these 
had all to be taken out. Raftsmen and lumbermen were in 
demand, and Colonel Rice's previous experience on the river, 
came in excellent play. Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson, afterward 
major-general, was the engineer-in-chief, and performed his 
duties faithfully. 

This was now peculiar soldiering. Heavy fatigue-details 
were made each day, or twice a day. The men had to get at 
the logs in the channel, cut them in two, or get them apart in 
some way, and then fasten ropes to them, by which to draw 
them out. Brigadier-General Washburne, in uniform distin- 
guished from the others, only by the star on his shoulder, gave 
his general attention to the work, and would at times lay hold 
on the ropes, and pull with all the power of a two-hundred- 
pounder. 

To counteract the effects of so much hardship and exposure, 
rations of whisky were occasionally issued. Those of the 
men who did not drink, gave up their ration to those who did, 
and thus some of the latter got "gloriously fuddled." This 
was before the day of rubber blankets with us; and we 
had to sleep on the ground, or on such flooring of weeds, corn- 
stocks, boards, &c., as we could gather, with only our woolen 
blankets for shelter. Rain was abundant. But once in two 
weeks were there twenty-four consecutive hours of dry 



12 CLEARING OUT THE PASS. 

weather. Under foot was mud and water, and that continu- 
ally. 

Small boats accompanied us, bearing the rations, head- 
quarters, &c. Of these boats, the Hamiltoyi Belle, an old 
Keokuk ferry-boat, seemed most undaunted and serviceable. 
Her draught was so light, and her power so great, we used to 
say she could run in a furrow on a heavy dew. 

As the work of clearing progressed, we marched further 
down the Pass, through the woods and swamps. A part of the 
regiment one night started to move further down, and dark- 
ness overtook them in the midst of a swamp. No place could 
be found, out of water, where a man could lie down ; and 
they had to turn back in the night, tired, wet, and grumbling, 
and hunt a place to sleep. But even out of discomforts they 
made fun. Their camp was chosen close to the brink of the 
Pass. During the night, one of the longest and slimmest men 
among them, the flag-staff of the regiment in fact, got up, in 
the dark and before he was well awake walked off into the 
deep water of the channel. Fortunately a good wetting was 
all the consequence; and great was the merriment at Jack's 
unlucky attempt to sound the river. 

But the most cheering event that happened was the arrival 
of the mail. None but those who have been in similar cir- 
cumstances can imagine how anxiously each one waited to 
hear his name called when the letters were distributed, or how 
great was his disappointment at learning there was noth- 
ing for him. Words of love and fond remembrance may seem 
but little to their writers, but to him who is far away from all 
he loves, and surrounded only by discomfort and dangers, 
they are doubly dear. 

Companies G and B were left behind the regiment for nearly 
a week, to clear out a particular drift. During this time a 



CLEARING OUT THE PASS. 13 

detail from these companies went out a short distance after 
forage, and several of company B were taken prisoners by a 
small body of rebels hovering near; but all or nearly all of 
them, were returned to the regiment before the expiration of 
our term of service. 

This jiart of the country, swampy as most of it is, has 
some of the richest plantations in the State. We foraged a 
great deal. Beef was so abundant that sometimes cows were 
killed for the sake of the liver; for none of us were particularly 
desirious to be very saving of rebel property. The forward- 
ness of the season seemed odd to us, wheii we thought of the 
time of the year. In one of our camps there was a peacli tree 
in full bloom on the 14th of February. Letters we wrote in 
the midst of budding Spring would reach home a month later, 
in the snows of mid- Winter. 

On the afternoon of the 18th, Companies G and B were 
ordered a few mil&s further down the Pass, to Alcorn's planta- 
tion, to re-join the regiment, as there was supposed to be some 
danger of a rebel attack. Reaching Pettit's plantation about 
dark, they made arrangements to camp for the night, and 
went to work to cook their suppers; but just as they were 
about to commence eating, a renewed and more urgent order 
came, and they had to start off supperless. That was a queer 
march, in utter darkness, in single file along the narrow top of 
the k'veo which was the most practicable road just then ; but 
it ended at last, in General Alcorn's cotton-press, where the 
rest of the regiment was camped. 

Next day we took formal possession of the general's negro- 
quarters, one company to a hut. Now came a general cleaning- 
up-time, our first for two weeks; and most of us experienced 
what is generally considered one of the last stages of poverty 
— washing our only shirt, and going to bed while it dries. 



14 CLEARING OUT THE PASS. 

" Hard-tack" had now entirely lost its novelty, and almost 
any thing else was welcomed instead. An old negress on the 
plantation had a quantity of meal ; and the regiment kept her 
overwhelmingly busy, baking corn bread, at 25 cents a pone. 
Frequently the door of her cabin would be crowded three deep 
by hungry soldiers waiting for their chances to buy. 

The old general had a small corn-mill in his cotton-press, 
rigged to be worked by mule-power. At first, for some cause or 
other, the mules were not to be found ; so the men laid their 
shoulders to the wheel by turns, and trotted merrily round the 
track, to grind their corn. It was a hard way of serving the 
country, however; and when at last the mules were found, 
they were put at work with little rest or mercy. 

The Pass being now cleared out, there was other work before 
us. After some delay which seemed to us unnecessary, we 
went on board the Hamilton Belle and another small boat, 
on the morning of the 23d ; and before night reach Helena, 
and entered our old camp there, glad enough to get back to it. 
But our rest was not long. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITION. 

On the 24th of February, we received two month's pay— the 
first installment since we were mustered in; and on the 
evening of the same day we embarked on the fleet that was to 
convey us down the Pass. Part of the regiment went on the 
steamer Citizen, and the remainder, with head-quarters, on 
the Lebanon No. 2. Brigadier-General Clinton B. Fisk, 
was in command of the brigade. The fleet consisted of two 
iron-clad gun-boats, a mortar-boat, and a number of small 
transports. 

As the boats were to be our camp for some time, and we 
were going through the enemy's country, preparations were 
made accordingly. Each company was assigned to some defi- 
nite portion of a boat. One would have the guard of one side 
of the cabin deck, from the wheel-house to the bow, another 
the corresponding place on the other side, a third the bow of 
the boiler deck, and so on, the room being calculated roughly 
to give the men place merely to lie down. On the hurricane- 
decks, breast-works of thick plank, were erected, and sharp- 
shooters daily stationed behind them. 

Of course, there was little or no chance for cooking; there 
almost never is any, for soldiers on a transport. Collee was 



16 THE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITION. 

miide, "cold-pressed," as it was called, by turning on hot 
water from the engines; and when the boat stopped, or the 
engineer wanted to show his importance, even that could not 
be obtained. The meat-ration was cooked by thrusting frying 
pans full of it, in at the boiler-fires. About meal-times, dozens 
or more of men stood waiting their turns for this. Some 
cooked their pork by holding it on sticks over the escape-pipes 
of the boats. At times, however, the fleet would stop, 
when the men went ashore to do as much cooking as might be 
done at once. The officers in the cabin fared at the boat's 
table, of course; but the men were not permitted to buy their 
meals there. After a while the amazing ration of " hard-tack 
and sow-belly" became almost unendurable. From so long 
confinement to the boats, without exercise, the digestion 
became impaired. Men would sit by a box of hard tack and 
gnaw away at it all day, and lie down tired and hungry at 
night. Often some poor fellow might be seen looking in at 
the cabin door, at dinner-time, and wishing he had been born 
an officer, or even a cabin-negro on a steam-boat. 

The country through which we passed was mostly swampy, 
and at that time overflowed with water; but there were fre- 
quent plantations, with negro-quarters, that looked like little 
villages. Rebel guerrillas were all around us, though not 
daring to show themselves much. On some of the boats men 
were wounded and killed by shots from the shore, but our 
regiment fortunately escaped injury from them. 

The Pass and the Cold water and Tallahatchie rivers are all 
very narrow, but deep, like most Southern streams. Our fleet 
was compelled to go very slowly, on account of the abrupt 
bends, swift current, and over-arching trees. The average 
speed made was about three miles an hour. Perhaps the best 
pilots in the world could not have saved the boats from injury; 



THE YAZOO PASS EXrEDITION. 17 

but wc thought the pilot of the Citizen was a rebel and wanted to 
smash the boat up. Often there were murmurs about the pro- 
priety of shooting him, when, at some sudden bend, or other 
danger, we would hear his old, familiar, careless cry — "Give 
her a turn back, Dan." The Citizen was a stern-wheeler, and 
somewhat unwieldy ; and before the expedition returned, she 
had lost most of her " gingerbread- work," and was otherwise 
mueli injui-ed. In fact, nearly or quite all the boats suffered 
more or less from the " rakes," as they were called, when they 
would swing into the current and hit the over-hanging limbs 
of the trees on the bank. There were many such " rakes " on 
tlie Citizen. One of them tore off a good part of the guard 
where Company B was stationed ; and soon afterward another 
one come near "cleaning out" Company G, on the other side. 
Hats, knapsacks, guns and accouterments were left hanging 
in the tree as we passed. It seems almost miraculous that no 
injury was done to life or limb by these tremendous collisions ; 
but the men soon learned to jump and dodge quite nimbly. 

The Tallahatchie is perhaps the crookedest river in creation. 
It is so unearthly crooked that, standing on one boat of our 
fleet and looking at the others, one could not possibly tell 
whether they were ahead of him or behind him. In one place 
there was but just one foot width of ground between the Tal- 
lahatchie river on one side and the same river on the other, 
and yet it was perhaps a mile around the bend. Dense cane- 
brakes occasionally lined the banks, and sometimes the boats 
would run into them a little, as if bent on crossing. There 
was occasional wet weather, of course; when those who 
slept on the hurricane decks had the disadvantage. They 
could shelter themselves very well, with their new rubber 
blankets, from the rain itself as it fell; but when enough 

water had collected on the decks it would run off in streams, 
3 



18 THE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITION. 

and "wash them out." It is not the pleasantest thing in 
the world to be waked in the middle of a pitch-bhick night 
by a stream of cold water running down one's back, and 
thus to waken from the sweet dreams of home and comfort to 
find one's self out of doors and in the rain. But they would be 
young in the army who were not used to much worse things 
than that. 

In the government of the fleet in emergency, a code of sig- 
nals had been devised. One whistle, sounded from the head- 
quarters boat, meant "Form line and prepare for action;" 
two whistles, "Prepare to land and attack the enemy;" and 
so on. One night, on the way down the Tallahatchie, the fleet 
had run until it was too dark to go any further, and 
anchored in the stream, in the midst of an apparently endless 
and untraversable swamp. During the night there was a 
heavy storm of rain; and in the midst of it came the one 
whistle from the head-quarters boat; all was instantly in 
excitement, some doubted; but most if not all the com- 
panies were formed in such line as was practicable on the 
boats, and stood waiting for further orders. Of course, an 
attack was expected; and we wondered how it should come, 
and could not help wishing we had a more comfortable time 
for it. Soon came the other signal, " Prepare to land and attack 
the enemy." How to land, was the question. There had 
been no land in sight when we anchored, and now it was too 
utterly dark to see any land if there had been any to see. But 
orders must be obeyed, whether they can be or not. We were 
duly proceeding to do the best we could toward fulfilling them, 
when an orderly came on board, with the word that it was a 
false alarm. The whistle-rope on the head-quarters boat had 
got wet and shrunk, and so it " whistled itself." Perhaps that 



THE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITION. 19 

was the first time when a steam-whistle, without human 
agency, ever called a brigade of soldiers to action. 

The negroes at the diflferent plantations along the river 
greeted us with frequently the most extravagant expressions of 
wonder and joy. Doubtless they thought " Mass'r Linkum's 
boats" were wonderful afiairs, and his men a wonderful army 
to bring them down there where nothing like the gun-boats 
had ever been before. 

Great quantities of cotton had been hurriedly taken away 
before our advance, but we captured large amounts of it, not- 
withstanding. Before long, the rebels found themselves unable 
to get it away fast enough, and so they commenced burning it. 
One day our advance gun-boat came so close to a small steamer 
loaded with cotton-bales which the rebels were endeavoring to 
take away, that they fired it and left it to its fate. Cotton 
burns peculiarly, and for a long time. The bales were unfast- 
ened, and the burning cotton spread all over the surface of the 
river. Our part of the fleet passed along there at night ; and 
the appearance was that of a river on fire. It was a strange, 
wild scene. Indeed, the whole Pass Expedition was a strange 
scene for us — in a strange country, where every thing seemed 
odd ; and it was a very peculiar kind of soldiering any way. 

In the afternoon of the 11th of March, our fleet reached 
Shell Mound, Miss., a few miles above the confluence of the 
Tallahatchie and Yulabusha rivers. The plantation had been 
recently deserted by its owner. It derived its name from a 
large mound composed entirely of shells, which formerly stood 
there, but whicli had been razed to the level, leaving small 
fragments of shell strewn over the ground. The mound waa 
supposed to have been erected by some aboriginal race. One 
large mound, in the form of a frustum of a cone, still remained 



20 THE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITION. 

on the plantation, and its top shaded by fruit trees, was a 
pleasant resting-place. 

Landing at Shell Mound, our regiment was immediately 
ordered out on wliat many of us supposed to be a march to 
battle, but which was probably intended for nothing more 
than a small reconnoissauce, and was countermanded almost 
before it had begun. 

Across the narrow strip of land separating tlie Tallahatchie 
and Yalabusha rivers, some two or three miles above their 
junction, the rebels had thrown a defense of earth-work and 
cotton-bales, which was called Fort Pemberton. This must 
yield before we could go further. Possibly the object, or one 
object, of our expedition may have been to draw the rebel 
force from Vicksburg. On the afternoon of the 11th, there 
was more exchange of shots between the gun-boats and the 
fort. Our regiment was ordered up the river a short distance, 
on the Lebanon No, 2, as a kind of foraging expedition, on 
which we twice fired a few shots at a small and rapidly 
retreating squad of rebels, and burned the plantation on which 
they were found. We returned to Shell Mound that evening. 
The fleet lying then in the bend of the river, with lights shin- 
ing, bands playing and men scattered about, among the close 
and gloomy southern trees, made a grand, impressive scene. 

Owing to the swampy nature of the ground, it was found 
impracticable to assault the Fort, and therefore there was not 
much actually accomplished. Regiments were kept out on 
picket, batteries planted, and other preparations made, but 
still there seemed to be no good opening for business ; and on 
the morning of the 20th, our fleet started back up the river, on 
the retreat. That night a boat from Helena, brought us a 
mail, which came like an angel's visit to us wanderers in a 
strange land. 



TECE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITIOX. 21 

"While we were on the way up the river, General Ross, who 
commanded the expedition, was superseded by General 
Quimby. Turning around immediately, we started back 
down stream, and reached Shell ]Mound again, on the 23d. In 
a day or two, a regular camp was formed — our brigade camp- 
ing on less space, probably, than ever brigade camped on 
before. During the night of the 28th, a heavy wind blew down 
a very large tree, which fell on a tent in the camp of the 47th 
Indiana, and killed four men and wounded several others. 
After tliis there seemed to be among our officers a kind of 
horror of camping among trees. 

General Quimby didn't take Fort Pemberton much more 
than General Ross did. We were occupied in standing picket, 
and planting batteries and changing them, until April 4th, 
when the whole force was ordered up the river again, on the 
final retreat. No remarkable event happened on the way. 
One or two plantations— or rather, the buildings and fences on 
them — were burned, in punishment of occasional shots from 
the shore near them. The fuel for the boats being now 
exhausted, landings were occasionally made, and all the rails 
in the neighborhood brought on board. A kind of rule was 
adopted in these cases, that whoever went ashore should not 
return to the boat without a rail ; and the General would obey 
it cheerfully, bringing up the heaviest rail he could get, on his 
shoulders, though such a proceeding was very, much beneath 
the dignity of some of the petty officers. 

Occasionally the men amused themselves by nailing strips 
of boards, like guide-boards, to the trees, against which the 
boats were all the time rubbing. On some of them were hung 
bottles, old clothes, effigies, etc., at which our children may 
look, perhaps in after years, and wonder how they could have 
ever been put away up there among the limbs of those tall 



22 THE YAZOO TASS EXPEDITION. 

trees. When our boat reached the Mississippi river, we fired 
a "grand salute" of all the muskets on board, and the one 
six-pound brass field-piece on the bow — as a kind of greeting 
to the noble river. Cramped up as we had been for almost 
six weeks, on the narrow rivers in the swamps, it gave us a 
great feeling of relief, to come out again on the broad Miss- 
issippi, where there was room enough to breathe. On the 
afternoon of the 8th of April, we reached Helena; and next 
day pitched camp on the side of the hill afterward known as 
Battery A, about a mile north-west of town. 

And so ended the expedition. In some respects it was the 
hardest of our soldiering. Even when men have plenty of 
the roughest exercise, the army ration as usually issued, is not 
very well calculated to continue health; and when men are 
confined so closely on boats, and almost totally deprived of 
exercise, as we necessarily were, ill consequences must be 
expected. Diarrhea was universal, almost unanimous. Few 
of us remained in as good health as usual, and many con- 
tracted diseases to whose sad end the lonely grave-yard on the 
bare Helena hills, within the next few months bore witness. 

The whole expedition was peculiar. It was hazardous as 
can well be imagined. Had the water suddenly subsided 
while we were down in the swamps, as it soon afterward did, 
we should have been left at the mercy of a much infe- 
rior foe. There was danger all the time, and in many 
ways. The whole time seemed to us more dream-like and 
distant, when we re called it to mind, than any other period of 
our soldiering ; and those of us who have been spared to read, 
in peace and quiet, here at home, these records of our army 
life and scenes, can hardly retrace, without peculiar feelings, 
their memories of the Yazoo Pass Exxjeditiou. 



CHAPTER V. 



AT HELENA. 

In camp again now, in a dry and comparatively healthy 
situation, we made preparation for a considerable stay. The 
camp was arranged in as good order as possible, kept thor- 
oughly "policed." Company A was detailed on provost-duty 
in town, from the 14th of April to the 25th of May. The regi- 
ment was put under a thorough course of drill again. Our 
field-music, which had almost entirely dwindled down to 
nothing, was started up now in such a way that it did not fail 
again until near the close of our service. There was a general 
revival of discipline and drill. On the 16th of April, the 
welcome countenance of the pay-master appeared, and we 
received four month's pay. The first time our brigade was 
ever out in line together, was on Thursday, p. m., the 30th, 
when Thanksgiving services were held in military order on 
our drill-ground. General Fisk, commanding the brigade, 
and Colonel (afterward General) Pyle, made some remarks 
and offered prayer, which were all our observance of the day. 

On the 1st of ISIay there was a slight skirmish between a 
party of .500 rebel cavalry, of Dobbins' Regiment, which was 
generally prowling around Helena, and a small portion of the 
3d Iowa Cavalry, in which the latter was defeated. Our regi- 
ment was immediately ordered out after the rebels ; marched 

1 3 



24 AT HELKSTA. 

out some eight or nine miles west of town ; found no rebels, 
of course ; camped over night in a rather pleasant place, 
and then marched back again. Drills continued, and the 
usual routine of camp. To aid the field-music in its marked 
improvement, a large bass drum was bought for the regiment, 
by contributions from the oflficers. 

On the morning of May 6th, we started out, with two other 
regiments, a small squad of cavalry, and a section of the 3d 
Iowa Battery, for several days of reconnoitering. Colonel 
Rice had command of the force, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Mackey of the regiment. Nothing remarkable happened on 
the outward march. Moving toward the south-west, we 
passed through some of the most beautiful prairie that ever 
was seen, dotted with pleasant groves, and covered with grass 
and flowers. Frequently our whole train could be seen at 
once, winding for three miles along the road ; and the alter- 
nation of white-covered army- wagons and blue-coated soldiers, 
relieved against the dark-green back-ground of the grove or 
prairie, was pleasant even to wearied soldiers. 

One day there was much fun and excitement over an unsuc- 
cessful attempt at capturing a very spirited old white horse 
which seemed to have the freedom of the prairies. Tired 
limbs suddenly gained new strength, to join in the chase; but 
even the ofiicers' horses could make but distant approaches to 
the spry old nag. Great was the enthusiasm, nevertheless; 
and one could not but be reminded of Irving's spirited descrip- 
tion of "Hunting the Wild Horse," on just such a beautiful 
prairie. At another time, while we were out on a large 
prairie covered with small sassafras bushes, there came a report 
that some rebel cavalry was close upon us. Our skirmishers 
were speedily sent out, our two pieces of artillery unlimbered, 
and we were immediately ready for action. But the supposed 



AT HELENA. 2d 

rebels proved to be only a squad of our own cavalry coming to 
join us from another road ; and so we made much fun after- 
ward, over the " Battle of Sassafras Prairie!" 

On the 10th, reaching a large bayou, and without means of 
crossing, and having by this time accomplished the object of 
the reconnoissance, we started back to Helena. Tuesday, the 
12th, was a hard day for us. Almost entirely out of rations, 
we had to march very fast, in order to get to town while we 
had any thing to live on. That night we had little or nothing 
to eat but parched corn. A rebel lieutenant, whom we had 
captured, made fun of some of us who seemed to think this 
hard fare, and said that he had lived solely on parched corn 
and slippery-elm bark, for months together. 

On the 13th, as we started out for the march to town, the 
command was halted, and three cheers formally called for and 
loudly given over the first received news of the taking of 
Richmond ! Alas ! that it wasn't true. But like the story of 
the wolf, we heard it so much, before we were out of the 
service, that at last it found no credence at all. 

At Helena again, the old routine returned. Our first brig- 
ade-drill was on the 18th; and battalion-drill, company-drill 
and skirmish-drill all the time, with the regular rations of 
guard- and fatigue-duty, left little room for idleness. There 
was an excellent drill-ground near camp, and we did not let 
the weeds grow on it. On the 22d there was a sham battle 
between the 3d Iowa Battery and the oth Kansas Cavalry, 
which to us, who had never yet known a real one, wi\s an 
exciting scene. Next day, Major-General Prentiss held a 
grand review of all the troops at Helena. There were on the 
field two or three brigades of inftintry, three regiments of 
ciivalry, and one or two batteries. This was the most orderly, 



26 AT HELENA. 

sensible and satisfactory review in which we ever partici- 
pated. Every thing seemed to go off according to programme. 
About the 1st of June, there began to come rumors of an 
approaching attack by "the rebels. Occasionally we would have 
to stand "at arms" from an early reveille till after sun-rise. 
One effect of all this was, that at last we grew to believe there 
would never be any attack on the place, and that all the long 
days of work on the fortifications, and the false alarms and 
every thing of the kind, were but the means adopted by our 
commanding officers, to keep us from rusting in rest. The 
fact was, however, the rebels had even then commenced mov- 
ing from Little Rock, against us. 

General Fisk having been ordered up the river. Colonel 
Rice now succeeded to the command of the brigade; and we 
never again had him for our regimental-commander. His life 
need not be written here. It is part of the history of our 
State. But we shall not cease to remember him as an able, 
zealous and careful colonel, brave among the bravest, of good 
and valued judgment, considerate of the welfare of those 
under his command, the model of an officer, and proud of his 
regiment, as it was proud of him. 

On the 15th of June we moved camp to the bank of the 
river, a mile north of town. On the 17th, the old muskets 
we had so long carried were exchanged for Enfield rifles. 
The change was made in good time, as we soon discovered. 
The weather was now very hot, and the location supposed to 
be unhealthy; but we paid full care to cleanliness in camp, 
and as much to comfort as possible ; and therefore got along at 
least as well as other regiments. And so the days passed, in 
the endless round of garrison-duty, with its "picket" and 
" fatigue," " picket " and " fatigue," in almost changless alter- 
nation, in the over-powering heat. It was by no means agree- 
able ; but a change was near. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE BATTLE OF HELENA. 

The progress of the rebels from Little Rock to the attack of 
Helena seemed to have been well known to our commanders, 
or if not known, at least well guessed at ; and our force at 
Helena was therefore kept well in readiness. There were 
frequent camp-rumors of the approaching attack, but few 
believed them. "Reveille at three o'clock to-morrow morn- 
ing. Stand at arms till sunrise" became a quite frequent 
order ; but these repeated appearances of alarm only made us 
believe less in the reality of any cause for them. 

But the time came at last. At two o'clock, in the morning 
of Saturday, the 4th of July, we were called into line and 
marched down to the vicinity of Fort Curtis, the principal 
defense of the post, and there stood "at arms" for an hour or 
more. All was quiet ; and though there was evidently " some 
thing up," many of us did not even then believe the rebels 
would seriously attack us ; and some even doubted that there 
were any rebels there. In a short time they changed their 
niind.-j. 

Jk'tween three and four o'clock, in the misty light of 
earliest dawn, occasional firing was heard along the picket- 
line. In a few minutes it increased, and the alarm-gun from 
Fort Curtis gave the signal for the fight. Our regiment was 

2 7 



28 THE BATTLE OF HELENA. 

immediately moved to the support of batteries C and D. The 
former was a little south-of-west of Fort Curtis, and the latter 
the most southern point of our western line. On the way to 
them we met Lieutenant Sharman, of Company G, riding 
on a horse, wounded, his face covered with blood. He had 
been in charge of the picket-detail from our regiment, which 
held the left of the line. A rebel brigade advanced against 
this feeble squad, and of course our boys fell back on the main 
line, but not until they had made such a gallant resistance 
that, a year afterward, at the battle of Jenkin's Ferry, some 
rebel prisoners asked what regiment we were, and upon being 
told, exclaimed, "O yes, we know you. You're the fellows 
that fought us so like at Helena." 

During a momentary halt, while one or two companies 
were being detached for a particular station on the line, a 
sutler of some cavalry regiment, whose stand was near, 
brought out his stock of bread, cakes and pies, and scattered 
them among the men. And all day he kept his store open, 
with all he could supply of bread and water free to every 
soldier. This was not only a sign of sympathy, but was 
material and valuable aid ; for we went out to the fight 
without our breakfast, a nd of course remained fasting most of 
the day. The greater part of the regiment got a share of the 
bread and water which were brought up near the line after 
the battle was over, but many had nothing to eat till night; 
and it is very uncomfortable fighting on an empty stomach. 

The rebels attacked us with about 12,000 men, under Lieu- 
tenant-General Homes, Major-General Price and Brigadier- 
General Marmaduke, striking our ranks with their main force 
almost at the same instant along our whole line. But their 
most persevering efforts were directed at our left, which was 
held mainly by our regiment and the 33d Missouri. On the 



TTTK BATTLE OF HELENA. 29 

northern i)ortion of the lino, wliich was attacked by General 
IMarmaduke, the 29th and 3Gth Iowa lield the ground, assisted 
by a six-iion of the 8d Iowa battery. The fight in this part of 
the field was not of so long continuance. On the southern 
portion the attack was repeated again and again, with a 
bravery amounting to desperation. All along the western 
side of Helena are abrupt hills, divided by numerous deep 
and narrow gorges, where in many places a man could only 
walk with difficulty. The trees that grew there had been cut 
down, and so disposed as to form the greatest possible obstruc- 
tion; yet the rebels repeatedly charged over places where, 
after the battle, we could but slowly clamber in search of the 
wouiided and dead. 

For some cause or other, the whole left of the line seemed 
to be left somewhat to itself. Colonel Rice, in command of 
the brigade, gave his attention to the northern portion of the 
field ; and upon Lieutenant-Colonel ^lackey seemed to devolve 
the command not only of our regiment but of a good part of 
the line. Riding constantly from one end to the other, he 
distributed the companies as seemed most necessary; and so 
one company Mould be sometimes at one place, and sometimes 
at another. 

Company C was stationed at battery C when the rebels 
made a grand charge and succeeded in capturing the battery. 
After a heavy loss, the company retreated a short distance; 
but the rebel triumph was of short duration. They attempted 
to turn our own guns against us, but a well-directed fire 
from Fort Curtis and battery D soon drove them back with 
heavy losses. The gunboat T>jlei\ steaming up and down the 
river and keeping up an incessant fii^' from her sixty-pounders, 
giive great assistance by the excellent "moral elleet" if not by 



30 TUE BATTLE OF HELENA. 

actual execution. The rebels believed there were several 
guD boats operating against them. 

Under cover of the dense fog of the morning, the rebel 
sharp-shooters had crept up so near our ranks as to be very 
annoying to us; but when the fog lifted and the sun shone 
out bright and clear behind us, we soon made them seek a 
longer and safer range for practice. Our regimental-color was 
planted in the breast-work where the center companies were 
first stationed; and there it stood till the battle was over, 
when it was found riddled with twenty-seven bullet-holes. 

In the heat of the battle some of us who were stationed near 
the colors, upon looking over to battery D, saw a hundred or 
go of our men go rushing out in a charge. Our hearts went 
with them as they gallantly advanced. In a little while they 
returned, bringing with them a crowd of prisoners of three ot 
four times their own number. Oh! how we shouted then I 
Companies G and B of our regiment were in the charge. A 
brigade of rebels had advanced down into a deep hollow in 
front of battery D, and in coming out of it either way, exposed 
themselves to a raking fire. So our small detachment went 
and gobbled them. 

A battle is generally supposed to be a time not only of car*- 
nage and death, but of grim and terrible excitement. But 
this was not the case in the battle of Helena, at least so far as 
our regiment was concerned. Our feelings were rather a lack 
of feeling. We acted and felt apparently just as though we 
had been in a hard battle every day of our lives. Up in the 
breast-works men would shoot at rebels as though aiming at 
buffaloes or deer. Laughing and chatting were abundant as 
ever. Officers would notice the missing shots of their men, 
and with all the eagerness of competition insist in trying a few 
shots themselves. Men would pick the best places for loading 



THE BATTLE OF HELENA. 31 

and firing behind the breast-works, and laugh at tho close 
misses of the rebel sharp-shooters. Sometimes to get a better 
shot, they would raise themselves up at full length, thus 
exposing most of their person to the enemy. In this way 
private Jacob Miller, of Company G, received his mortal 
wound. 

At the commencement of the battle, when the bullets first 
began its whiz scatteringly among us, we "bobbed" consider- 
ably. This "bobbing" is a purely involuntary motion, like 
the winking of the eye, when a foreign substance approaches 
it Sometimes it seems almost impossible to keep from "bob- 
bing," though every man may laugh at himself meanwhile, 
for doing it; but when the bullets come thick and fast the 
motion as involuntary ceases. There seems then to be no room 
to dodge. " Why don't you stand up straighter ? " said one to 
a man who during a heavy fire of artillery, was crouchingly 
passing along behind a breast-work. "There isn't room," 
was the expressive answer. In the hottest of the fire, no one 
seems to think of dodging, but let the storm of bullets slacken 
much, and the "bol)bing" immediately re-commences. 

At one time during the battle there seemed some prospect 
tliat the rebels might at least eflfect an entrance to the town; 
but soon their advantage was lost in such way as to be worse 
f<jr them, than to have never gained it. After repeated efforts, 
they slackened their fire, and finally drew back altogether. 
By 11 A. M., the battle was over; but our little force could not 
wisely do otherwise than remain in the defenses and await 
the renewed assault whicli all confidently expected. Tliirty- 
five hundred of us would have looked scanty indeed, pursuing 
twelve thousand in an equal field. We did not know how 
badly we had beaten them. Had we but known the utter 
route and demoralization in which they withdrew from the 



32 THE BATTLE OF HELENA. 

field, we might have driven them to greater losses, or even 
captured the whole. But while we lay behind our works 
expecting, and ready for their return, they were rushing away 
in mad disorder, not even stopping to care for their wounded 
on the field. We had won a glorious victory; but it was 
obscured from public view by the still more glorious news 
from Vicksburg and the east, as moon-light is dimmed by the 
sun. 

Placed in the front of the battle our brigade suffered the 
heaviest of the loss, and our regiment more than the rest of 
the brigade. AVe had 22 killed, 49 wounded, and 16 missing; 
and a large proportion of the wounded died of their wounds. 
The names of those who were wounded or fell will be properly 
designated in the roll of the regiment, herewith appended. 
Doubtless almost any other regiment, placed as we were, 
would have done as we did; but it was our fortune in this 
battle to bear the burden and heat of the day. 

In the newspaper reports of the action, much credit was 
given to a colored regiment which held the left of the works, 
extending from the bluffs to the river; but the truth was that 
they were not attacked at all. If they had been, they would 
doubtless have done their duty bravely, but they deserve no 
especial credit as it was. The 33d Missouri was immediately 
with us much of the time; and from this grew a strong 
liking and cordiality between the two regiments. To pass 
through danger together is a great aid to mutual esteem. 
Indeed, it was noticed in the regiment, after the battle, that 
there was a much better state of feeling among us than before. 
Things seemed to move on better generally, and there was 
better discipline with less friction. 

After the battle was over, we lay on our arms out in the 
trenches, to be ready for a repetition of the attack. Bread and 



THE BATTLE OF HELENA. 33 

water were hauled out from camp ; but many of the men got 
none till well toward evening. The wounded were borne 
from the field to improvised hospitals, friend and foe alike, 
and received equal treatment side by side. It was remarked 
that the prisoners we took had very exaggerated ideas of both 
their own force and ours, many giving the former at forty 
thousand, and estimating ours at about half that amount. 

One of the many personal incidents worthy of mention, is 
the adventure of Sergeant Moore, then a private of Comi)any 
G. At one time during the battle, after an advance of a por- 
tion of our force, he suddenly found himself alone, and the 
rest of the party some distance behind him. Seeking the best 
route of retreat, he spied a rebel with a flag, and at the same 
time four other rebels with guns in their hands, who sprang to 
conceal themselves behind a log. Jumping to a stump, with 
that quick wit which in sudden danger, seizes the first availa- 
ble expedient for escape, he brought his rifle to bear upon a 
single rebel— who proved to be a surgeon— and summoned him 
to surrender himself and the four other men immediately. It 
was a bold demand, for one man to five ; but Moore had the 
backing of a loaded rifle and full determination, and it didn't 
take the rebels long to see it. The surgeon surrended himself 
and the others, and Moore marched them back to the security 
of our lines, and delivered them up as his quota of the victory. 
We lay in the trenches till noon of the 5th, but no attack 
came. A few rebel surgeons and nurses came in to attend 
their wounded. It was remarked that the rebels turned black 
;*" almost immediately after death. Some supposed this to have 
been caused by the whisky-and-gunpowder mixture which 
was furnished them to drink, as remains of it were found 
i in many of the canteens. Their dead were buried on the 

field ; but since then the battle-field has been so changed by 
4 



34 THE BATTLE OF HELENA. 

barracks and fortifications, many of the graves are indistin- 
guishable. 

We have spoken thus fully of this battle, because it was our 
first. There have been many vastly greater conflicts, but 
never greater victories. Thirty-five hundred men repulsed 
fifteen thousand, so severely they retreated in a panic, 
from the efifects of which they never recovered. The "moral 
influence" here gained was of service to us afterward. Had 
there not been so much greater actions on the same day in 
other portions of the country, the victory at Helena would 
have rung .through all the North. We would not wish the 
scene to be repeated ; but now it has passed, there is no " cele- 
bration of the 4th" to which we look back with so much pride 
as our 4th of July at Helena. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE LITTLE ROCK EXPEDITION. 

The welcome the rebels received in the forenoon of the 4th, 
at Helena, was enough for them, and they did not think it 
advisable to return; but this we were not aware of at the 
time, and so an alarm came next day. We were lying in 
camp, trying to have a Sunday's rest after the battle, when 
the signal-gun from Fort Curtis, warned us again into line. 
Now we were mad. If the rebels had but waited a while, and 
given us some little chance to rest, we would have fought 
them again quite willingly; but we did not like to be so 
hurried about it. We made ready however, sulkily deter- 
mined if the rebels came at us we would give them a worso 
whipping than before. This time our regiment was sent 
out just north of Battery A. Skirmishers were deployed, 
companies posted, and every preparation made for the coming 
attack ; but no attack came, and no sign of any. Our com- 
manders had doubtless happened to remember that "eternal 
vigilance is the price of liberty." Their caution cost us a very 
unpleasant night; for a heavy rain came on, and we had to 
lie in the mud, with only the shelter of our rubber-blankets. 
Returning to camp next morning, we again received the news 
of the surrender of Vicksburg, and again greeted it with threo 
hearty cheers. 



36 THE LITTLE ROCK EXPEDITION. 

On the 8th a more formal and less unpleasant "celebration of 
the 4th," was ordered. All the troops at Helena, numbering 
perhaps, not far from five thousand, were drawn up en masse, 
at the east side of Fort Curtis, and addressed by Major-General 
Prentiss, and several minor ofiicers, in terms of the highest 
congratulation upon their bravery and its glorious result. 
Just at the proper moment of the General's speech, when he 
alluded to the roar of the cannon on that day, which should 
be echoed again in more peaceful times in honor of the day, 
the guns of the fort and the neighboring batteries oi^ened a 
fire that brought back the echoes of the recent battle. It may 
not be unworthy of mention, by the way, that this firing, as 
well as the cannonading on the 4th, was distinctly heard at 
Benton, in Saline county, one hundred and forty-five miles 
away — as we were afterward assured by testimony so concur- 
rent we could not doubt it. 

Again on the 10th there came another alarm. The signal- 
gun was fired, the long-roll beaten, the regiments hurried into 
line and marched to their appointed places in defense; the 
•'pomp and circumstance" of war was marshalled in all its 
fullness— and in a little time three negroes were marched 
within the lines. ^'■Parturient monies et nascitur" negro. 
The poor fellows had come from some where out in the coun- 
try, hiding through the woods, and their sudden appearance 
at our picket-line was the cause of the alarm. 

But finally, the battle and its alarms became an old story, 
and things settled down into about the usual routine of heavy 
garrison-duty. In a few days a detail from the different regi- 
ments was sent out on a scout; but they returned, with a 
report only of hard marching and some forage. Occasion- 
ally a boat-load of Vicksburg prisoners would pass up the 
river, looking very much like an animated clay-bank in the 



THE LITTLE ROCK EXPEDITION. 37 

unvarying color of dirty-yellow. On account of the heat, the 
effluvium from the neighboring swamps, and perhaps other 
causes, our regiment was now reduced to an aggregate of only- 
two hundred and eighty-five effective men. The pleasing 
presence of the pay-master enlivened us again on the 28th 
of July, and we were paid for two months. If there is 
any officer whom, ex-officio, soldiers are especially glad to see» 
it is the pay-master ; and if his visits are not quite as welcome 
as those of angels, they are almost as far between. 

About the first of August the rumors of a march across the 
country to Little Rock began to come in circulation, and fre- 
quently hinted at Texas also. In a few days they settled 
down into the plain facts that General Steele was to command 
an expedition against Little Rock, and we were to be a 
part of the expedition. Of course, there must first come a 
grand review, for which all thje troops were formed on our 
old drill-ground, which was now so overgrown with weeds, 
that marching on it was extremely difficult. Previous to the 
march the sick were separated from the regiments ; and this 
proceeding was to some a cause of great anxiety. Many man- 
ifested a cheerful willingness to stay. Some were excused by 
the doctors, who were fully able to go with the regiment, but 
to offset this, there were many who insisted on sharing the 
march, though pronounced unable to endure it. 

At 2:40 P.M., of the 11th of August, our division, under 
command of Colonel Rice, took up its line of march. It 
was a hard beginning of a rather hard time. The heat was 
overpowering to us, who were unaccustomed to hard exercise 
in such a climate. Woolen blankets, knapsacks, extra cloth- 
ing, &c., were soon scattered along the road. One big burly 
fellow in the regiment, after carrying his heavy knapsack as 
long as he could, began to haul it over and throw away a part 



38 THE LITTLE ROCK EXPEDITION. 

of its eoutents ; and among these he found an old ax-head, 
which some severe practical joker had slily placed there before 
vve started. In a few days things grew worse; and on the 
16th and 17th there was much suffering. The heat and the 
hard marching together, were too much for any ordinary pow- 
ers of endurance. Men would fall out of the ranks and tumble 
down at the side of the road, by dozens and almost by 
hundreds. All such stragglers would have to come on after 
us, of course ; but that is much easier than marching in ranks. 
In fact, marching with a regiment is one of the hardest ways 
in the world of getting along. A man may walk forty miles 
a day, alone and at his own gait and time, as easily as he can 
march twenty-five miles a day in the army. And a sick man, 
who can not march fast enough to keep up with the regiment, 
is frequently permitted to walk on ahead. This may be called 
a peripatetic paradox — that a soldier who can not march 
fast enough to keep up with his regiment, should rest himself 
by marching on ahead of it, yet such is often the case. 

As we approached Clarendon, Arkansas, on the evening of 
the 14th, some of us, exhausted by the heat and hard march- 
ing, had fallen behind the whole column. Resting awhile at 
the outer picket-post of Davidson's cavalry, who then held 
the place, we started on again to overtake the regiment. 
Weak and weary as we were, every mile seemed almost 
endless, and every minute at least an hour. There are times 
when even a soldier may have some thing very much like 
"the blues." The more we marched, the less we seemed 
to gain; and darkness was fast gathering. Camp must be 
found that night, or our hard-tack and coffee would never 
do us any good. Still the town seemed no nearer. We 
began to think of "giving up"' generally, and not trying 
to go any farther, when suddenly the rich tones of a good 



THE LITTLE ROCK EXPEDITION. 39 

brass band greeted our ears. Had an angel suddenly stood 
in tlio way, we would not have been more surprised or 
ehtored ; and we pressed on with renewed vigor. It was dark 
when wo reached the little huddle that bore the name of Clar- 
endon. Davidson's cavalry were all over the place. Our 
division of infantry had just come in, " and passed on farther" 
some where, but no one could tell us where. One man would 
tell of their camping about a mile ahead, and the next would 
make them two miles distant; and after tramping over those 
weary miles the first man we met would tell us, carelessly, 
that the 33d was camped about two miles further on. 

At last the camp was reached, but it was a labyrinth of 
cavalry and confusion. Of all possible places to "get lost " in, 
a cavalry-camp in the woods at night, is the most inexplicable. 
You lose your bearings, and there is nothing to show them 
again. You inquire, and the answer is more bewildering than 
the ignorance itself. You undertake to go straight across the 
road, and in three minutes you suddenly lind yourself on the 
same side you started from. Your only resource is to get a 
darkey to hunt the way for you, or else to wait till day-light. 
We chose the former alternative ; and the sagacious African 
piloted us through more twists and turnings than Cretan ever 
dreamed; and at last we reached camp, and soon forgot all 
present troubles in a cup of the soldier's true comforter, good, 
substantial coflFee. 

At Clarendon, General Rice appeared with the star on his 
shoulders, having received them since we loft Helena. Sorry 
to lose him entirely as a regimental-commander, we were glad 
to see his sphere of service enlarged, and were proud of his 
success. 

Tills Clarendon had never been a town, and had been 
burned some months ago, when General Curtis' army was 



40 THE L,ITTLE ROCK EXPEDITION. 

there; so the little now left of the place was not partic- 
ularly valflable nor attractive. Perhaps the spirit of the few 
Inhabitants may fairly be judged from the fact, that one 
night during our stay, a secesh gentleman burned his own 
house to prevent its being used as a hospital for our sick 
soldiers. 

At Clarendon we remained a week, w^aiting for orders, or 
rations, or "some thing to turn up" — we knew not what. 
There was much sickness, not only in our own regiment, but 
among all the troops. The march out from Helena, had been 
too hard for endurance ; and beside this. Clarendon was the 
very home and head-quarters of ague in bulk and quantity. 
The very air was thick with it. We could almost hew out 
blocks of it, and splash them into the river. One morning 
one of the buglers undertook to blow the "sick-call" — a 
"quinine and whisky," as we usually named it; but before he 
had sounded a half-dozen notes a sudden ague seized him, and 
he was shaking vigorously. Another bugler took the horn, 
and he, too, had to lie down to shake. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lofland came to the rescue, but the "sick-call" was too much 
for him ; thei'e was ague in the bugle, and he had to lay it 
down. At last came one more practiced in blowing, and by 
great effort he sounded the call; but while the rest went up to 
the surgeons' tent for their regular rations of quinine and 
whisky, he went off and spread himself upon the ground and 
took a shake of unprecedented vigor and duration. 

By the way, there used to be a wonderful impartiality in 
the army some times, in the distribution of medicines. At 
any rate, the boys used to say it made no difference what 
a man's ailment might be — diarrhea, constipation, lameness, 
sore hand, gun-shot wound, or broken leg — the invariable 
remedy was the "C. C. pills;" and the boys would represent 



THE LITTLE ROCK EXPEDITIOX. 41 

the doctor as occasioiuUly ordering the patient, in his gruff 
way, to " take one every two hours, or two every one hour, I 
don't care a d— n wliich." 

And there some how got into circulation the report, that 

when little Pete H , stubbed and short as so tough a diap 

could be, went up to the doctor with some bronchial ditliculty, 
the doctor opened Pete's mouth with no gentle hand, exam- 
ined liiui with grim, professitDnal carelessness, and at last 
grullly told him that he had " piles or sore throat, d— d if he 
could tell which." 

But to return to our ague: Comparatively si)eaking, the 
real, genuine " Clarendon shake" is to any ordinary chills and 
fever, about as a big bull-dog is to a pet poodle. We experi- 
enced it in all varieties and degrees; and the worst that any 
ague can ever do now for us, is to make us think of Clarendon. 
On Friday night, the 21st of August, the regiment started on, 
crossing White lliver on the pontoon. Then came a long 
stretch of corduroy-road, over which we had to march, in the 
almost utter darkness, first up, and then down, one foot off, 
and one on, stumbling and falling, and then scrambling up 
and tramping on again, till strength and patience were alike 
exhausted, and we believed that corduroy-road containe<l 
tlie oft-mentioned point " where forbearance ceases to be a 
virtue." If ever men were pardoned for profanity, surely 
those teamsters are i)artially forgiven, who drove their six- 
mule teams over tliat worse than road, in the darkness of that 
dismal night. And how mortal creatures, of limited capaci- 
ties withal, can drive six indisputable mules hitched to an 
army- wagon, by a single rein, and wind around safely among 
stumps, trees and mud-lioles, where a man walking must 
well consider his steps, is a mystery and a wonder. 



42 THE LITTLE KOCK EXPEDITION. 

Morning came at last, and a day of rest; and then we 
started on again. The country we passed over on the 23d, was 
so much like Iowa, as to be the theme of constant remark. 
There was Iowa prairie, and an Iowa breeze blowing over it ; 
and the timber bordering it was like Iowa timber. Several 
times, in marching through Arkansas, we have found great 
similarity betM'een the country there and some parts of Iowa, 
with which we were familiar. Indeed, perhaps, no greater 
similarity exists between any Northern and Southern States, 
than that between Iowa and Arkansas. 

A little after sun-down, at the close of a hard march on 
which we had seen some suffering for want of water, we 
reached Duvall's Bluff, on White River, and went into camp. 
This was the 23d of August. Here was the terminus of the 
Little Rock and Duvall's Bluff rail-road, of which the rebels 
yet held the greater part, and which they had till within 
a few days been actively using. There had formerly been a 
few buildings here ; but the expedition against Arkansas Post, 
the previous Spring, had destroyed them. 

Here we remained a week in camp. The boats brought 
supplies up from Helena, and the mails came with tolerable 
speed. On the 31st of the month the onward march was 
resumed. Next morning we were informed that twenty miles 
of prairie lay before us, with no water except what we carried. 
All the way so fav, there had been much difficulty in getting 
decent water to drink. It was the dry season. Frequently 
we had to go to the swamps, and skim a thick, green scum 
from the top of the water we were compelled to use for coffee. 
So we imagined we had already known what was meant by 
scarcity of water; but worse was yet to come. The well 
near us was exhausted, and no creek could be found. So 



TllK LITTI.K nOCK EXPEDITION. 43 

scarce was water now, that to prepare for that twenty- 
miles march in the heat of a Southern August, many of us 
hati to nil our canteens from a puddle where the hogs had 
wallowed, and in the bottom of which was a pile of bones. 

That day's march was a hard one. The road was high 
prairie, and the sun shown down unclouded. Before the day 
was half gone, the "stragglers" — those who, from fatigue and 
exhaustion, were unable to march in ranks, and had to tumble 
down at the side of the road, and rest and wait — might be 
counted almost by hundreds. Many had drank too freely in 
the morning, and so too much reduced their scanty supply 
of water for the day. One hardly can imagine what thirst is 
until he has seen some such time as this, when he begins to 
have strange, waking dreams of water, and of the happiness 
of lying down, if only for a minute, on a green bank, and 
having a river run into his mouth. 

It was well toward evening when we marched through the 
little town of Brownsville, and passed on into the woods near 
a bayou, to camp. The morrow was a day of rest, which the 
men improved in washing their clothes. Next morning, 
September 3d, at six o'clock, our regiment and two others 
were ordered out, in fighting trim, on a reconnoissance to 
Bayou Metoe. The weather was exceedingly hot, and the 
roads dry and dusty. This day's march was always consid- 
ered in the regiment to be the hardest we ever had. The 
distance was twenty miles, and we accomplished it a little 
after noon. But many were compelled to fall out of ranks 
and wait till night before coming in to camp, or till the ambu- 
lance came and took them, if they were absolutely unable to 
travel. 

Arrived at the bridge over the Bayou Metoe, the 33d was 
dejiloyed as skirmishers. A battery of small howitzers, 



I 
44 THE LITTLE KOCK EXPEDITION. 

shelled the woods, but the only enemy was a small squad of 
rebels, apparently on picket. At night we withdrew, aAd 
camped on a beautiful spot, which had evidently been a rebel 
camp for some time. Ditches, bowers of leaves, portions of 
bunks, rude chairs, straw, remains of garments, old pieces of 
leather, stoves and broken boxes, were the tokens of recent 
occupation. The camp had been defended by a breast-work, 
from which General Davidson's cavalry had driven the rebels 
in a sharp little skirmish, a few days before. We found here 
two corpses of Federal soldiers lying in the woods unburied. 

Next morning, by a march of less fatigue, we returned to 
Brownsville. The object of the movement out to the bayou 
had been to persuade the rebels that our advance was to be 
made by that place; and the feint proved fully successful. 
Sunday morning, September 6th, the regular march re-com- 
menced. A part of the way was over a high and pleasant 
prairie; and as we marched we asked ourselves what the 
folks at home, at that hour attending church as usual, away 
up there in the peaceful North, would think if they were to see 
us wearily plodding along meanwhile, over those Arkansas 
prairies. In the evening, as it drew near dark, came one of 
those times when, as if purely from the innate depravity of 
things, the train seems to move but a foot at a time and then 
halt a minute. This is one of the most vexatious of experi- 
ences. It is more tiring and disagreeable than twice as much 
time at hard marching in mud and rain. And to add to the 
discomforts of the evening, the camping-place assigned our 
regiment was an old field, completely overgrown with briars, 
among which we had to pick our way and find room to sleep 
as best we could. It was a cheerless time; and perhaps the 
men were pardoned for part of the cursing. Put at last the 



THE LITTLE ROCK EXPEDITION. 45 

fires were kindled ; and the fragrant coflee soothed each weary 
man to rest. 

Next day the march was more agreeable. The road wound 
for some miles through the woods, where wild vines hung in 
greater luxuriance and profusion than we had ever seen. 
Grapes were quite plenty, from the small black frost grape to 
the rich and juicy muscadine. Emerging from the woods, we 
marched along the side of a field containing one thousand acres 
of corn, with a strip of sweet potatoes looking large enough to 
supply all our army while the season lasted. A New England 
farmer would scarcely be more surprised at the sight of some 
Western fields than we were at this, and some other Southern 
plantations. Here began traces of a contest in our advance, 
and they continuetl all the way. Occasionally firing was 
heard, as our cavalry drove back the rebel out-posts. The end 
of the journey was at hand. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



LITTLE ROCK. 

The 10th of September was a day worthy of remembrance. 
The weather was clear and very warm. At about ten in the 
forenoon we moved out from camp. The train had been 
posted, guards detailed, and proper dispositions made for the 
expected contest. But our part of the victory proved very 
different from wliat we had anticipated. All day we merely 
marched along, making frequent halts. One place in the 
woods, where we stopped to rest a moment, seemed nearer the 
lower regions, by several notches on the thermometer, than 
any we had ever tried before. It almost melted the hair on 
our heads. Occasionally during the day, we could hear the 
rattle of musketry in the advance, which told us that David- 
son's cavalr^ was still " driving them in." Toward evening 
the firing grew heavier and more continuous, and was varied 
by an occasional boom from the artillery. As we neared the 
ever-moving scene of action, it was with a constant expecta- 
tion to be soon engaged ourselves; but it was not so to be. 
The cavalry did the fighting, and the solid columns of infantry 
steadily marching on, supplied only the requisite "moral 
support." 

Beaching the Arkansas River, we could sec how General 
Steele was flanking the enemy. The cavalry had partially 

4 6 



LITTLE ROCK. 47 

crossed tlie river and advanced up the southern side. Wounded 
rebels along the bank were occasionally visible. Still we 
went marching on; and before sun-down we passed through 
the outer defenses of Little Rock, which the rebels had 
just evacuated in considerable hurry. The road was well 
obstructed, and the earth-works strong enough to command 
the passage. Here was where the rebels were prepared for us; 
and had not General Steele so surprised them by the Bayou 
Metoe feint, and the present flanking-movement, we should 
certainly have had some diflflculty with them here. As it was, 
the pans and kettles, with victuals yet cooking on the fire, 
showed how unexpectedly they had discovered the position to 
be no longer tenable. 

All the afternoon, smoke had been seen ascending from the 
direction of the city. As darkness came on, and we drew 
near the place, the fires were more distinct. The rebels were ' 
burning their cars and steam-boats, and some government 
buildings. An iron-clad gun-boat had ascended the river 
some months before, and the fall of the water had left it high 
and dry on the sand. It was now but a shapeless mass of 
burning ruins. The wooden pontoon-bridge, however. Gen- 
eral Price had not time to destroy, though he made a hasty 
attempt to do so. 

It was almost dark Avhon wo arrived opposite the city. 
The firing on the opposite shore hid ceased, and there 
was a rumor that we were fully victorious. Still we kept 
marching on. The burning locomotives stood on the track a 
little to our left ; and some one kept their bells ringing as we 
passed. Then, as the outlines of the city across the river 
became dimly discernible through the gloom, a horseman 
dashed past us, shouting that Little Rock was ours, and David- 
son held possession. Loud rose the cheers, and that hour of 



48 LITTLE ROCK. 

our arrival opposite Little Rock, with its accompaniment of 
burning boats and locomotives, bells ringing, bands playing, 
and regiments cheering as we marched along, was one of the 
most stirring and poetic of our military life. 

There seemed a kind of retaliatory justice in the time. The 
rebels had left this place, and traveled a month to give us a 
visit at Helena. We had traveled a month to return the call; 
but we were more successful than they. Some of our boys, 
taken prisoners at Helena, had been brought here for confine- 
ment ; but before we arrived they had been paroled and sent 
to St. Louis, so we did not have the opportunity, as some had 
anticipated, of meeting and freeing them at Little Rock. 

Camping that night where we first halted, our first business 
was, as usual, to make ourselves comfortable as might be; but 
next morning there was leisure for looking around, and 
wondering how long we should be there. Some sanguine souls 
flattered themselves with the prospect of a Winter in the city ; 
but the more thoughtful rather expected but a brief rest in the 
great advance to Texas. So we lay and waited for the order 
which should let us across the river and into the city. There 
was much amusement over the story of a rebel surgeon, who 
had gone to sleep drunk, in the Anthony House, under Con- 
federate rule, and waked to find himself protected by Federal 
authority, and who groAvled out his surprise that a man could 
not even take a little nap at a hotel, without falling out of the 
Confederacy, 

On the morning of Tuesday, the 15th of September, we 
moved across the river and entered the city. The place 
assigned for the camp of our brigade was a gravelly and 
wooded ridge a little south of the arsenal grounds. Room 
having been allotted to the regiment, our first business was to 
make it liabitable. The ground was covered with a dense 



LITTLE ROCK. 49 

under-brush, thickly interspersed with young pine trees. 
T]iou<,di immediately contiguous to the capital of the State, it 
was as much wild land, as any in Arkansas; but it suited our 
circumstances very well. Our tents and extra clothing having 
been left at Helena, we now found it necessary to use all our 
ingenuity in making shelter for ourselves. The ground was 
cleared off, and large piles of brush were burned. One after- 
noon there were so many and so hot fires of burning brush 
that, though the day had previously been perfectly clear, 
before night a shower came on, evidently caused by the smoke 
and heat thus raised. 

Brush-shelters were now constructed, and laid oflf by compa- 
nies as a regular camp. Many of them were no inconsiderable 
protection. Of course they would not turn rifin, but they 
were very good houses for warm, dry weather. Some of them 
were erected with much skill and patience. One man of 
the regiment, who "roomed by himself," kept at work for a 
week or two in twisting and weaving a kind of kennel in 
which to stay; and when it was done, and he was in it, the 
sight was almost equal to a small side-show at a circus. 

Supplies were now to be hauled from Duvall's Bluff to Little 

Rock in wagons, as the railroad had no rolling stock in order. 

The consequence was, that we were put on quarter-rations; 

anil very scanty living we found it. A great demand sprung 

up for pieces of tin and sheet-iron, of which to make graters 

whereon to grate corn. At these home-made graters the men 

would put in their spare time by turns, until they had meal 

enough to satisfy hunger for a day or two ; and when that was 

gone the grater wa.s in demand again. One or two ^luall, 

portable, iron mills were erected, to be worked by two-nuui- 

power ; and their creaking was heard at almost all hours, 

monotonous and dreary. 
5 



50 LITTLE KOCK. 

Near our camp was a garden, from which the boys occasion- 
ally " drew " sweet potatoes and some few other vegetables; 
but no body lived too high. Again and again we would run 
all over Little Rock in search of bread for sale, and find 
never a loaf. Pies of miserable quality and limited amount, j 
retailed readily at twenty-five cents each ; but eatables of 
any sum and substance, it was frequently impossible to buy. 
The city seemed quite deserted. Shops and stores were closed, 
and few citizens could bo seen in the streets. Indeed, the 
ladies had been terrified by all sorts of wild reports about our 
army, until they dared not remain in sight of us. They got 
over this after a while, however. One who spent only the 
last week of our stay in Little Rock with us, could form but a 
faint idea of'the appearance and manners of the city and its 
people when we Wintered. 

The first part of our stay was by no means agreeable 
Scanty food, insufficient clothing, and such shelter only as 
brush-houses could give, were poor comfort, even after such a 
march. The nights were some times so cold we would 
have to get up before morning and warm ourselves by the fire. 
Teams were kept out through the country after forage,, which 
helped out the provisions considerably ; and some times those 
of the more fortunate among us could obtain meals at private 
houses in town ; but altogether, there was not much in this 
beginning of our Little-Rock-lifc to make it's memory pleeis- 
ant. 

About ithe last of September, company- and battalion-drills 
were commenced again. On the Cth of October we received 
our tents and surplus clothing from Helena, and both were 
very welcome. The camp was now arranged in more military 
style, and to better advantage. The old brush-shelters were 
remorselessly abandoned and destroyed, and a general clean- 



T.ITTLE ROCK. 51 

5ng up ensued. In a few clays, Mr. Seholte, of Marion County, 
Iowa, arrived, as commissioner to take the vote of the regi- 
ment. The election was held on the 13th, very quietly, at the 
Colonel's tent ; and resulted in giving forty-six votes to Gen- 
•eral Tuttle for Governor, and all the rest to Colonel Stone. 
During the Fall, our boys who had been taken prisoners at 
Helena, having been paroled and exchanged, returned to the 
regiment. "We were heartily .glad to have them with us 
again, and the regiment seemed to them like home. Probably 
Little Rock seemed more agreeable to them now, than it did 
\vhen they were there before. 

Cold weather was now coming on, and preparations were 
made for Winter. Log-barracks were erected for the compa- 
nies ; and a great demand arose for brick-bats, sticks and mud, 
for chimneys. The town was ransacked for stoves, but with 
poor success. Only the Winter before, stoves had sold at one 
hundred and twenty to one hundred an(^fifty dollars ; and 
people seemed to have hardly yet forgotten the old Confed- 
erate price-list. But soldiers "draw" things some times, and 
buy when they can't avoid it; and so before long, stoves and 
chimneys began to make the Winter-quarters quite comfort, 
able. We now hoped to remain here quietly during the 
Winter — not that we had any desire to shirk duty ; but it 
would have pleased us much better to have duty come in that 
way— and things seemed to indicate that such would be the 
case. But soon there came an unexpected, and not wholly 
delightful chang'c. 



CHAPTER IX. 



WINTER. 

At mid-night of the 25th of October, 18G3, we were roused 
from our slumbers by the never- welcome sound of reveillie. 
Up and ready for action, was the order understood. Soon it was 
learned that the rebels had been making a disturbance in the 
vicinity of Pine Bluff, and we were ordered to Benton, a little 
town twenty-five miles south of Little Bock, to intersect their 
retreat. The hour of starting was fixed at two in the morn- 
ing ; and at forty minutes later we were on the move. Stop- 
ping about sun-down to take breakfast by the side of the road, 
we marched on fast and steadily till we reached Benton, at 
4 P. M. A small squad of cavalry already held the place, and 
of course left little to be bought any where around there. But 
no sooner had we broken ranks, than there was a promiscuous 
scattering all over town, in search of bread and other eatables. 
The people must have thought the Union army Nvas almost 
starved ; and just at this particular time the opinion would 
not have been exceedingly out of the way. But our boys paid 
for all they obtained at Benton, and left the worthy citizens no 
cause for grumbling. 

One of the "non-commishes" had been unusually successful 
in gathering provender, and had accumulated quite a pile of 
corn-cake at his place in camp. One afternoon he went out 

5 2 



WINTER. 53 

after more, and on returning ho found two men posted as 
sentinels, walking a beat, arms at a "shoulder" with all due 
precision and gravity, before his pile of rations. Great was 
his wonderment, until he was informed that his personal grub 
had boon mistaken for the regimental-comissariat, and this 
guard placed there in consequence. 

Ou the morning of Thursday, the 29th, the troops started 
south-west — the 33d only, for a wonder, being left behind. 
"We could only explain, by supposing it to be expected that the 
attack, if any was made, would be made there. But our 
detention was quite cheerfully obeyed ; and the boys having 
all the town to themselves, had room to flourish considerably. 
The soldier never knows how long he may stay in any partic- 
ular place; and experience soon teaches him, whenever he 
reaches camp any where, and sees no special probability of 
going further, to make calculations as if he were to stay a 
month. Many of our boys went around and engaged private 
boarding by the week. At one house where was a rather good 
looking young lady, who attempted to play on a somewhat 
time-worn piano, and sang rebel songs with such vim as only a 
female rebel can exhibit, there W'cre some twenty or thirty 
blue-coated boarders— attracted perhaps equally by the cheap- 
ness and good quality of the victuals, the music of the piano, 
and the undisguised and spirited rebellion in tlie looks, words 
and actions of the black-eyed young lady. 

While the fair weather lasted, it was all very nice to lie there 
in camp, and have no fatigue, and not much other duty, to per- 
form ; but on Friday night, while wo wore all sleeping quietly 
under our blankets on the ground, a heavy rain came on, and 
a hasty ris-ing, building of fires, and general muttering and 
discomfort ensued. The next day, lumber was obtained in 
some way, and temporary sheds erected for the companies ; 



54 WINTEK. 

but of course, this was just too late to do any good. That 
night the other regiments returned from their scout towarci 
Arkadelphia; and on Sunday, November 1st, we marched 
back to Little Bock. Very comfortable then seemed the log- 
shanties of our old camp, and very glad we were to be back in 
them. Now we could learn the truth or falsity of all the big 
reports we had been hearing ; and they dwindled down to a 
reality of little, or nothing at all. Almost always, while we 
were out on the march, there would some ho\\' get into circula- 
tion, vague reports of the taking of Eichmond, the defeat of 
Johnson's army, or some other great military event ; and the 
truth would generally show no foundation for them. 

Brigade-drills, and all the routine of camp-life, again com- 
menced. Our brigade as now organized, was composed of the 
29th and 38d Iowa, and the 9th and 28th "Wisconsin Inftintry. 
The command of it devolved upon so many different officers,, 
during 'the period of its organization, it would be difficult 
to name the commander at each particular time. Occasionally, 
all the field-music of the brigade v/ould unite for practice, and 
cm some musters and reviews, played together thus consoli- 
dated. In this way, with from twenty-fi^-e to forty fifes and 
drums, squealing and rattling in unison, a "heap big music'^ 
could be made. 

November 27th, wx) were paid off again, 'and the clothing 
account for the first year was settled. Some men had consid- 
erable money coming to them, while others, having just the 
same service all around, and apparently dressing no better^ 
found themselves several dollars in debt. Our stay in Winter- 
quarters had now fairly commenced; and one day was so much 
like another, that no especial description is necessary. The 
main events of the day in camp, were guard-mounting and 
parade, which of course took place regularly, and with all the 



WINTER. 55 

usual "style." Our i)art of the picket-line had always to 
be filled, and the customary camp-guard kept up. Details 
for fatigue were abundant. There was always some thing to 
be done. Either freight must be unloaded at the railroad 
doi)ot, where all our supplies were now received, or there must 
be a forage-train sent out, or at least a detail to go after wood. 
And so the days passed. The men in camp kept warm in 
the shanties, and amused themselves as best they could. 
Fiddles and cards were a constant resort. Some played chess, 
many r^ad, and a few studied. The Library and Reading- 
Room of the Christian Commission, in town, though some 
what scantily supplied, were liberally patronized. Our ranks 
were now noticeably much thinner, than when we left home. 
Battle had taken some, but disease many. On the IGth of 
November, a recruiting-party, under Captain Lofland, then 
acting as lieutenant-colonel, was sent up to Iowa, where it 
remained till the next April, and obtained a number of 
recruits for the regiment. 

By this time bakeries had been established in town, so that 
bread could generally, though not always, be obtained. The 
usual price for a louf weighing a pound and three-quarters, 
was twenty-five cents. The army-ration is such intolerable 
fare for men in camp, that most of our regiment regularly 
l)Ought a large share of their living, rather than sicken on 
the unwholesome " hard-tack and sow-belly." Potatoes could 
generally l)e had for two dollars per bushel, and butter at 
sixty cents a pound; and at such figures many a man spent 
the most of his wages in getting wholesome food. December 
7th, (\)mpany II was moved out to a tannery, eight miles 
pouth of town, under orders as permanent-guard. They 
remained there until the 13th of March ensuing, having a 



06 WINTER. 

very quiet time of it, and of course making some acquain- 
tances among the inliabitants of the neighborhood. 

The weather now in its general features, was much like that 
to which we had been accustomed in Iowa, but on a milder 
scale. A cold day was not so cold as in Iowa, and a warm 
day was warmer. The wind seldom blew so much at a time ; 
and a clear evening was more beautifully clear. The moon- 
light was lovely, flooding camp and wood with a mellow, 
golden glory that made night more beautiful than day. 
There was no snow until the season was far advanced. The 
Winter was mild even for Arkansas. One morning — the 
12th of December — we especially noticed as being exactly 
like one of our finest Spring mornings at home. Going 
down to the little brook that ran along the north side of 
camp, we could see fresh, green grass growing, and hear 
the birds singing in the trees as jubilantly as if Winter were 
forever gone. The pines looked bright and green ; and the 
warm mist that rested lightly all around, had that languid, 
balmy, undefiuable fragrance which we call "the breath ot 
Spring." 

Christmas came this year on the same day of the month 
as usual; and perhaps for this reason, as much as any, the 
boys observed it as well as they could. There was nothing 
public going on, but in camp there seemed an air of general 
jollification, and much provision of some thing extra to oat. 
A favorite dish was potatoes boiled and mashed, and heaped 
up in a plate, with a little butter at the top, "home fash- 
ioned;" and as the boys gathered around the rough tables, 
and saw the savory dish, many a thought went back to the 
homes we hoped to see before another Christmas should come. 
A dish of mashed potatoes is a very common matter; but 
like the Switzer's Ranz des Vaches it may touch a chord of 



i 



WIXTER. 57 

tender memories. Some of the officers celebrated the day 
by a "treat" to their men. Company G was thus treated 
to an excellent dinner of r(>ast pig and oysters ; and other 
companies received simihar attentions. Among the weary 
monotonies of life in camp, that Christmas of 18G3 will be 
ever pleasantly remembered. 

The 31st of December was such a day as might be chipped 
out of almost any Iowa Winter — a regular old blustering 
nor'-wester snow-storm, blowing all day. So the year went 
out, in cold and storms, and the new year came in, bright, 
clear and cold, like the eyes of a Northern maiden. There 
was no celebration of the day in our camp, for Christmas had 
exhausted the enthusiasm. 

On the 8th of January, Charles Dodd was hung at Little 
Rock as a spy. Details were made from all the infantry, as 
guards to the execution. The criminal was a young man of 
scarcely twenty-one years, and had formerly resided only 
eight miles south of the city. For the last few months before 
the war, he had attended school at the St. John's College, 
immediately in front of which he now Siiw the last of earth. 
"What his thoughts may have been, at this last terrible 
moment, no tongue can tell; but he bore himself with a 
bravery and composure that would have done honor to a 
better cause. This was the only military execution we ever 
attended. Many of the regiment would not go out to witness 
this ; and the general expression of those who did go, was that 
they never wanted to see another man hung; yet the same 
men would walk unmoved, over the bloody horrors of a battle- 
field. 

Company-drills were resumed on the 19th of January, as the 
wcatluT was now mild and beautiful. Instead of cold and 
snow, and wind and storms of an Iowa AVinter, we had warmth 



58 WINTER. 

and sun-shine. But things were not all agreeable, by any 
means. For some cause or other, there came an unprece- 
dented scarcity of rations. For several days about the last of 
January, not only our regiment, but most of the troops at 
Little Rock, had actually nf> rations on hand for several meals 
before the times of drawing. In our regiment a complaint 
was made to the lieutenant-colonel commanding, and an extra, 
or advance-ration was obtained and issued. The mere reading 
of the abstract statement that men were out of rations for a 
day or two, may not sound very bad; but the actual reality of 
going down to the mess-table at noon, and finding nothing to 
eat but a piece of rusty bacon, and having no means of getting 
any thing elsewhere, is decidedly a disagreeable matter to a 
soldier. 

Some time in the Winter, a negro family of four persons 
moved into our camp: an old man, his wife, and two full- 
grown daughters. The old man built himself a shanty near 
the "sutler's shebang," and busied himself at whatever work 
he could find to do ; and his wife and the two girls officiated 
as washer- women for the regiment. They were quiet, sensible, 
industrious folks; and in a little while a mutual friendship 
between the regiment and " Uncle Tony and Aunt Lucy," was 
firmly established. They would talk of us as though we 
were their brothex's; and when the regiment left camp, or 
returned after a march, there were no truer or warmer 
words of welcome or parting, than those they gave us. 
Respecting us and themselves, yet knowing and understand- 
ing the differences of color and tastes, they attended unob- 
strusivoly to their own business, and were treated as civilly as 
white folks would have been in the same circumstances. If 
all negroes were like them, the social problem need never 
present a difficulty. 



WINTER. 69 

*'iraril times," in a pecuniary ix)int of view, arc no less 
common in the army than elsewhere. There had now for 
some time l)een much stringency in the money market ; but 
it ceased on the 10th of February, when the long-looked for 
pay-master arrived. General feelings of plethoric contentment 
pervaded the pockets of light-blue pantaloons ; and the folks 
at home too, who had in many cases needed the customary 
remittance from absent husbands and fathers in the army, 
were ghxddened by the money as soon thereafter as it could 
go. Perhaps few regiments equalled, and probably none 
excelled the 33d Iowa, in respect to the amount of money 
sent home. It was very common among us for men to thus 
send off so nearly all their wages, that long before the next 
pay-day they would have to borrow money to purchase need- 
ful food. Some managed to send home more than their 
wages ; but they made the extra money generally by trading 
watches, or making and selling rings ; a few made money by 
gambling. 

On the 20th of March, several recruits arrived for the regi- 
ment. Fresh from citizens' life in Iowa, they came just in 
time to take part in some of the hardest, if not the very worst 
and hardest, of all our soldiering. It was a rough commence- 
ment of army-life for them ; but in justice it must be said they 
bore it bravely, and seemed to get along as well as any of the 
rest. By this time, Spring with us had fairly como, and 
witli it vixme a break in tlio monotony of " Winter-quarters." 
Active movements against the enemy were now the general 
order of the day, and we were to take part in them. The rest 
of Winter gave place to the activity and bustle of a Spring 
campaign. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE CAMDEX EXPEDITION". 

The 23d of March, 18G4, was clear and beautiful. Reveille 
was sounded at the usual hour; and at 9:40 a. m., with rations 
packed, knapsacks slung, forty rounds of ammunition in the 
cartridge-boxes, w^ith all the paraphernalia of a long and dan- 
gerous march, to the old, accustomed tune of Yankee Doodle, 
we marched out of Little Eock — for the last time, we thought 
— as part of General Steele's column intended to join Banks' 
army at Shreveport, by way of Camden. 

The march seemed harder at first, from our having been in 
camp so long ; but we made the nine miles marked out for the 
first day without difiiculty, and camped at night in an iBxcel- 
lent place, on the Benton road. "A good camping-place" 
means a place where there is plenty of good water convenient 
for all the men and animals, plenty of rails, or other handy 
timber for fires, and enough of tolerably smooth ground to 
sleep on. How we used to hope for all these ! and how often 
to the labors of the day were added much more at night, 
which might all have been avoided if we could have had 
a good camping-place! When no water could be obtained 
within half-a-mile, and no good wood was to be found at all, 
and the thick brush had to be grubbed away from ground 
enough to sleep on — all of which some times occurred — there 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. CI 

seemed little show for comfort or rest at night. Add to this, 
mud knee-deep and a steady rain falling, and there is a picture 
of what soldiers call decidedly uncomfortable. 

Next morning our bugle startled the surrounding darkness, 
and soon the call was answered from all the neighboring fields. 
Bugles rang as we had never heard them before. If an enemy 
had been in hearing distance, he must have thought we were 
at least a hundred thousand men, to raise such a wide-spread 
din. Finally a brass band, that accompanied the expedition, 
rang out its mellow tones, and the noise of the bugles ceased. 
The Camden Expedition started out "in style. " 

On the evening of the second day, camping early in a good 
place, wo drew our first rations for the trip, and learned that 
during the march, but half-rations would be issued, except 
that with commendable care and prudence the General had 
ordered a full allowance of coffee for all the time. For this we 
always thanked him. Coffee is the soldier's friend. On a 
cold, wet night, after a hard-day's march, nothing is so eagerly 
anticipated, and so gratefully welcomed, as the soothing, 
3'ct stimulating coffee. Yet the army style of making it 
would make a woman smile with scorn. If a large amount is 
to be made, as enough for a company, a doubly-generous 
quantity of ground coffee is put into an iron camp-kettle, and 
left to boil till the strength is all out of it ; and when this plan 
is not adopted, each man makes it for himself, on the same 
principle, but in a little tin ci\n. The liquid in either case 
looks very much like the water of the Rio Grande, or of the 
Missouri "on a Ix^ndor," but its taste is good, and its effects 
plainly perceptible. It is a thing almost indispensable in the 
army. Necessary as tobacco is generally held to bo, and 
universal as is the use of it, if it were left to the vote of a 
division of soldiers, whether on the march they should give 



i62 THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION, 

up their coffee to save their tobacco, the answer would be, 
after much and painful deliberation, ".Let's take the coffee." 

Perhaps thosc who never were in the service, looking at 
the "regulations" may find that the standard army-ration 
embraces quite a variety of tolerable food; and they may 
infer from that that living on half-rations is not so very bad 
after all. The "army regulations" are all very nice, and 
the army-ration would do very well for soldiers if they could 
only get it. But the exact amount of food that was issued to 
us as half-rations on this expedition was two hard-tacks, a 
little salt pork, a little salt, and some coffee, to each man per 
day. And this was not in jjrison or in camp, but on the 
march; and on the strength of this men had to tramp through 
rain or shine, good or bad going, level road or hills, with 
gun and rig, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds, 
and knapsack, haversack and other articles, weighing almost 
as much more; and this was a fair sample of our fare for 
months together. Is it any wonder men foraged? 

Southern nights and mornings are always cool. The day 
may be oppressively hot, and the night so cold that the one 
woolen blanket which the soldier has hardly persuaded him- 
self to carry so far, will not keep him warm enough to sleep. 
Frequently we had to "tumble up" from our beds on the 
ground at three or four o'clock, in those cold Spring mornings, 
and take the remainder of our rest in standing at the fire. 

The fifth day of the trip, March 28th, our regiment was 
taken as train-guard— that is, divided up into squads of a 
company or less, and stationed along among the wagons. The 
day for this duty on the march was always counted as a 
tiresome and disagreeable one with us, for it necessitated slow 
marching, with an occasional hurry, frequent little stops, 
much fretting and impatience; some times a good deal of work 



THE CAMDEX EXPEDITION. 63 

In j^otting wagons out of the nuid, and always a late coming 
into canq) at night. This day it was about live in the after- 
noon when wo turned off into the brush, as usual, to bivouac 
for the night. One who has never tried it can not imagine 
how welcome the camp some times seems to the tired and 
weary soldier. Of all fatigue, perhaps that of long inarching 
is the most wearisome. It comes on by such slow, monot- 
onous degrees, and there is so little change or relief about it, 
that one feels much more worn out after a hard-day's march, 
than after equal labor in any other way. So this evening, 
when we were filed off into the brush for the evident purpose 
of camping, and then had to march and counter-march among 
the stumps and brush-patches several times before our lines 
were satisfactorily adjusted, it may be supposed we were not 
in the very best of humor; and possibly there may have been 
some very uncomplimentary remarks made concerning the 
worthy major who commanded us during the march to Cam- 
den. But right upon this, adding worse to bad, came the 
order for our regiment to advance some three miles farther, to 
hold a bayou, at which there w'as supposed to be some danger 
of attack from the rebels. Murmuring rose, not openly but 
earnest, but of course we had to go; and the rest that night 
was none the less sweet, when we did get it. 

The next day gave us some consolation, in laughing at the 
Mjrrows of others. A dirty, ragged cJd Dutch woman, whose 
house we were passing, came out obstreperous to us, and with 
loud words and lamentations, demanded to bey directed to the 
"coornul." Being s'lown who he was, she besought him 
sorely that he would help her. Some Dutch cavalry-man in 
front of the train, had seen a horse in a pasture thereabouts, 
that was better than his, and had quietly made a trade by 
changing the saddle and equipments from his own horse to the 



64 THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 

other, and riding off, leaving the tired cavalry-horse, well 
pleased with the change. Such little swaps were common in 
the army, and recognized occasionally by the code of military 
necessity ; but the old woman could not view the matter with 
our unprejudiced eyes. She wanted Major Gibson to signify 
authoritatively to the cavalry-man, that she rued the bargain. 
From a civil stand-point, her position was undoubtedly the 
correct one, but the major declined to take any definite action 
in the case; and so the old frau's uncouth rage and lamen- 
tation were laughed at by the whole regiment, as we passed. 
Doubtless she has to this day a very poor opinion of the 
Yankees. 

About three miles from Arkadelphia, we suddenly came 
to a place, where all the trees, and the brush and grass looked 
much fresher and greener than any where else. The change 
was as great and noticeable as though the season had been 
moved a month forward, while we marched a mile. It had 
almost the appearance of magic. We never saw a similar 
appearance elsewhere, and could never account for this. The 
place itself was like a hundred others we had passed — a low, 
flat portion of the bottom-lands bordering a bayou, and 
surrounded by timber. Under ordinary circumstances it 
would have been pleasant, but then it was delightful. 

In the afternoon of March 29th, the sixth day out, we 
entered camp in the outskirts of the fine village of Arkadel- 
phia — a place which seemed to us much like a Northern town. 
Situated on the Washita River, and built mostly of good, 
white frame houses, it presented a very different appearance 
from many of the dilapidated "huddles" to which we had 
been more accustomed. Very soon after breaking ranks, our 
men were pretty well distributed around town, seeing the 
sights and searching for eatables. There was little, if any 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 65 

foraging done. We paid for nearly all we got; and the women 
of the place frequently told us, " Yur men treat us better than 
our own men do." A considerable amount of good ham, 
corn-meal and molasses was obtained. The town indeed 
seemed much better provisioned than we had expected, 
though there was no surplus of food. Many of the citizens 
were dubious about taking our money, lest after our army 
had left the place, the rebels should trouble them for having 
received it. 

The regiment was pretty well scattered around town, and 
not all the men had got their suppers, when at a little before 
sun-set a most unexpected order came for us to pack up forth- 
with and march back to the bayou, three miles from town, to 
camp there as guard for the train, which could not all get 
across before morning. The order received at regimental 
head-quarters may or may not have stated this reason for the 
movement, but the order sent around to the companies said 
nothing about it. The men could not know the object of the 
march, or of what length it was to be; all they could learn 
was, that they were to pack up and move again. Wrath and 
curses rose loud and thick, but did no good. When we were 
once started, these ill feelings found better vent in whoops and 
yells that made the echoes ring. There may have been some 
need of hurrying, but it was more from a kind of vexation 
and half-conquered wrath that we struck into a march as fast 
as we could go, and kept on going faster and faster. The 
Major's old horse, at the head of the battalion, had to trot all 
the time to keep out of our way. The first two or three 
companies marched those three miles in just thirty-five min- 
utes, and turned into camp at a pleasant place near the bayou ; 
but the rear of the regiment was strung out half-way to town. 

6 



66 THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 

It is much harder to march in the rear, than in the front of a 
regiment or cokmm ; and of course, when the front marches 
as fast as it can, the rear must lag behind. But if any regi- 
ment can make better time than three miles in thirty-five 
minutes, in heavy-marching order, we do not know where it 
is to be found. The next morning it took us just one hour, of 
good, steady marching, to go back to town. Entering the 
former camp again, we looked for a rest of two or three days. 

There was in Arkadelphia, a pretty good two-story white 
frame building, used as a seminary for young ladies, and 
furnished with desks, charts, maps, &c., and a very passable 
piano. Led on by the very demon of naischief, some of our 
men, with a number of men from other regiments, ransacked 
the building from end to end, tore up the maps and papers, 
destroyed the benches, and smashed the piano into utter ruin. 
The whole seminary was left a perfect wreck. The guilty 
parties were not discovered, and so our whole regiment had to 
bear a share of the odium of this most dastardly and abomi- 
nable act of wanton destruction ; and never before or since, 
was it concerned in such an abuse of military power. 

The rebel General Fagan was reported to be hovering in the 
vicinity, with a force of about five thousand men. He would 
never have dared to attack us there and then, of course, but 
still we had to be ready for him ; so our little army went 
through the farce of standing "at arms," one morning, for a 
short time. 

At 8 A. M., of the 1st of April, we' started on again ; and 
at night, after a march of about a dozen miles, the camp was 
pitched in the woods near a couple of houses, which collec- 
tively, were designated in the geography, (if at all) by the 
romantic name of Hollywood, Arkansas, but by the inhab- 
itants were ordinarily called Spoonville. Next day our 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 67 

regiment was scattered as guard among the train, and part of 
it was pretty well toward the rear. This was a hard day all 
round. During a good part of the time, there was skirmishing 
with a body of rebels, whose number we had no means of 
knowing. The field-pieces which accompanied the rear-guard 
were pretty actively employed with occasional shots "on the 
wing." Our regiment was not in any of the skirmishing; 
but two or three of the companies were kept double-quicking 
a good deal of the time, first to the rear as re-inforcements, 
and then back to their place in the train again. A part of the 
afternoon there were great efforts made to "close up the 
train," which had become badly scattered along the road ; and 
the haste, and bustle, and confusion and fatigue so occasioned, 
were so nearly like what a stampede or a panic must be, that 
we hoped never to see any closer imitation. 

Nearly all the way was through timber, mostly pine. Some 
of the time our advance-guard would set the leaves on fire 
before us, which compelled us at times to march for hours 
together, through the dense smoke and heated air of the still 
burning under-brush. This was dangerous business for 
powder-wagons and caissons, but fortunately there was no 
explosion. On the 4th of April, as we lay in camp near the 
Little Missouri River, most of the time under orders to be 
ready to move at a moment's notice, there was quite a skir- 
mish down on the river, in our plain hearing, for about an 
hour in the forenoon. General Rice was slightly wounded on 
the head, several men were killed, and a number of prisoners 
taken, before the rebels were driven back from the river. 

Resuming the march on Wednesday morning, April 6th, we 
crossed the Little Missouri, on a kind of impromptu bridge, 
and soon heard the first of that skirmishing in our front, 
which continued at intervals, more or less all day. The rebels 



68 THE CAMDEN EX¥KDIT10N. 

were disputing our advance. At one time nearly our whole 
force of infantry and artillery was drawn up in battle array 
on an open place in the woods; and part of the day we 
marched in line of battle, with skirmishers deployed. There 
were frequent appearances of an impending battle, but the 
rebels steadily retreated before our cavalry ; and after driving 
them a few miles, we turned back to a nice place in the woods, 
near the river, and went into camp. Here we lay until the 
morning of the 10th. A forage-train was sent out ; and as it 
did not return at the appointed time, there was considerable 
anxiety lest it had been "gobbled" by the rebels. The 
seventy-five teams and four hundred men would have been a 
very good haul for Mr. Price ; but he failed to get them that 
time. They came in all right, after a while, having met with 
no difficulty. 

While we lay here, the long-looked-for and much-talked-of, 
re-inforcement of "Thayer's command" arrived, from Fort 
Smith. A nondescript style of re-inforcement it was too, 
numbering almost every kind of soldiers, including Indians, 
and accompanied by multitudinous vehicles, of all descrip- 
tions, which had been x^i^'ked up along the road. General 
Steele toned down this extra- transportation a good deal before 
we started again. 

On the morning of the 10th, the train commenced moving, 
but it was one o'clock in the afternoon before it was stretched 
out enough to allow of our taking the place assigned us. 
Before long the rebels began to resist our advance. All the 
way was through timber, mostly pine, and a good part of the 
time we marched through this, in line of battle. As we neared 
the large and beautiful prairie called Prairie De Anne, the 
opposition of the rebels increased. Their main body was 
posted on the prairie, under command of Price himself, and 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 69 

numbered several thousand. Our own force now, as we sup- 
posed, must have comprised between ten and twelve thousand 
men. 

At about 4:45 p. m., as we came upon the edge of the prairie, 
the continuous skirmisliing merged into a battle, and the 
artillery-firing became quite heavy. Our regiment advanced 
in column by division. At one time we marched in this close 
formation for several minutes, in the direct range of a rebel 
battery, whose shot and shell came nearer than we deemed 
imperatively necessary. A piece of shell struck Private Wm. 
P. Funk, of Company I, wounding him on the head so that he 
died in a few hours. There was no other casualty in our 
regiment during the battle. Marching steadily forward to the 
edge of the prairie, we were ordered to support the 9th Wis- 
consin Battery, which was done, as ordered, by lying down 
flat on our faces, in line of battle, while the battery continued 
its vigorous and well-directed fire. The rebels responded 
actively; but their guns were of an old and inferior pattern, 
and their shot and shell, though very destructive to the trees 
in the rear, did not come very near us. For a while the 
cannonade was brisk and lively; but it gradually grew 
v/eaker, as the rebels retreated, and before sun-down, had 
almost ceased. 

Now began a slow and cautious advance over the prairie, in 
line of battle, with skirmishers deployed, and interrupted by 
frequent orders to halt and lie down. The prairie was at 
intervals intersected by small brooks, fringed with dense and 
some times very thorny thickets; but we advanced now, in 
scarcely broken line, through places where, in peaceful times, 
we would not think of forcing passage. As it grew too dark 
to go any farther, the line was ordered back a little, to 
<}ne of these thickets, where we stacked arms for camp. The 



70 THE CAMDEJf EXPEDITION". 

night was clear and cold, and our wagons had been left a mile 
or two behind us, which two facts caused the hearts of the 
officers to sink considerably, for their blankets, mess-chests, 
&c., were with the train. The men had all their possessions 
with them, of course, and could therefore eat hard-tack and 
drink coffee, and tumble down to sleep about as usual ; but the 
officers had to get along as best they could. Many of them 
were compelled to stay awake and shiver all night, and that 
without their accustomed supper. It should not be under- 
stood that the men refused to share with the officers, but there 
was not enough of either food or clothing for all. 

During the night the rebels kept up an occasional artillery- 
fire, aimed at us, but doing its only damage among the trees 
far in the rear. Those of us who were out on picket, could see 
not only the flash of their guns, and the light of the shells as 
they rose in the air, but the very blaze of the old-fashioned 
matches they used, instead of the improved locks or primers 
of more modern construction. So near were our picket-lines 
to those of the rebels, that much ill-humored conversation 
paased between them, the " Jennies" being particularly severe 
on us for being all Dutchmen. 

Some time before mid-night, we were suddenly waked by 
the fierce firing of small arms near us. The rebels were 
making a bold sortie, to capture one of our guns; but they 
were repulsed before we could even move toward them. Our 
sleep that night was too much interrupted to prove refreshing. 
Next morning, details of men were sent back to the wagons^ 
to make coffee at fires kindled behind some thickets, which hid 
them from rebel view. The more fastidious also had their 
pork fried, and some went so far as to stew up crackers in 
grease and water, as a luxury; but the majority of the line 
had to take the " hard-tack and sow-telly " in a raw state, and 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 71 

be thankful to have their coffee warm. The remainder of the 
forenoon, we merely laid there, waiting orders. It was a 
beautiful day ; and the singing of the birds in the thicket near 
us, contrasted oddly with the occasional booming of the cannon 
and the continued skirmishing on some part of the line. As 
for us, we hunted rabbits, played euchre, read old novels, 
wrote away at letters, slept, and so on, as though there were 
no thoughts of battle in the world. 

At 2:25 in the afternoon, a forward movement commenced. 
The whole of our little army was drawn up in battle array, in 
such a disposition that it looked even to ourselves like a large 
force, and to the rebels in our front, must have seemed an 
utterly overwhelming array of infantry, cavalry and artil- 
lery. We heard afterward, that when General Price saw us 
thus advancing, he threw up his hands and exclaimed "My 
God! they are coming in clouds," and immediately ordered a 
retreat. Certainly it was to us, and must have been more to 
them, a magnificent spectacle. The vast prairie, with its 
beautiful diversity of groves and undulations, was just the 
ground for such a display ; and we can not easily forget the 
enthusiasm awakened by the martial scene. 

"To warrior bound for battle strife, 

Or bard of martial lay, 
'Twerc worth ten years of peaoeful life — 

One glance at their array." 

Toward evening we halted for some time, on t^^e high 
prairie. There was considerable skirmishing in front. Cap- 
tain Comstock, in command of our skirmish-line, advanced so 
near the rebels, that he was confident he could have captured 
one of their guns, if he had been allowed to go farther. Their 
old smooth-bore field-pieces turew shot so awkwardly, that 
some would plunge into the ground far in front of us, and 



72 THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 

others would come so closely down in our rear, that we began 
to have some fears of being shot in the back, though fairly 
fronting the enemy. Meanwhile, as if for relief from the 
monotony of lying still to be shot at, an old cow, with a bell 
on, started up near us, and was immediately pursued by some 
thing less than a hundred shouting and laughing soldiers, but 
finally succeeded in making a fair escape. It was but a very 
little matter to write about, yet it made more fun than ten 
times as great an event could have caused at another time. 

That night we marched back to our previous camp; and 
before six next morning, our whole force was again in battle 
array, and advancing toward the enemy. The skirmishing 
was at times, quite lively. Our batteries would open on 
the rebels, and speedily silence and scatter them. At about 
9 o'clock, we reached the edge of the woods, and entered 
the rebel camp, which their rear-guard had just evacuated. 
Over a mile of very passable breast-works, alternated with 
places for cannon, of such a range that they could have liter- 
ally mowed us down in a direct assault, were now, with a 
choice of routes from there, in our possession, with hardly any 
loss; and we were much pleased at this result of a flanking 
movement. 

Halting here but a little while, the column moved off across 
the prairie, to the Camden road, and soon after reaching that, 
passed through a town called Moscow, consisting of three 
houses, one of which had been in use as a temporary rebel 
hospital, and then contained a member of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, 
who had been severely wounded, and taken prisoner, a few 
days before. The orders against foraging were now very 
strict, and some of the officers — not of our own regiment — 
were very strict in enforcing them ; but men on half-rations, 
scant half at that, will have some thing more than that 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 73 

amount of food to eat, if they can get it. Sugar, pork, 
chickens, pigs, &c., fell a frequent prey. Not always to the 
victor came the spoils. On one occasion, a boy of our regiment 
had shot a fine pig, by the side of the road, and was just skin- 
ning it, when the officer of the day rode up, and made him go 
off and leave it. During the confab, while the officer's back 
was turned, another of our boys, quietly walked off with the 
pig. So the only harm done, was that one mess had an extra 
camp-kettle full of unauthorized pig. 

At one place in the woods, where a short halt was ordered, 
there was heard a low, continuous sound, like distant thunder, 
or a miglity water-fall. Attention was at once arrested, but 
no cause for the sound was visible. The matter bade fair to 
remain a mystery, when suddenly some one discovered that a 
large and hollow oak tree, a little distance from the road, had 
been fired at the bottom, and the sound was produced by the 
current of heated air passing through it, and escaping by a 
large knot-hole at the top. It was in fact, a natural chimney, 
W'ith the best draft in the world. 

At frequent intervals on Wednesday, the 13th, we could hear 
cannonading in the rear, where Thayer's Division marched. 
In camp that night, there were all sorts of reports concerning 
the losses of the day. Slightly exaggerated statements repre- 
sented that one of the colored regiments had lost eleven 
hundred men and two colonels; but not many believed so 
much. Finally, all the reports settled down into the fact, that 
the rebels had followed us, and tried to annoy us all they 
' could. Next day, the route lay through some of the worst 
swamp that ever was traversed bj'- mortal man. Marching 
was out of the question, and wading through the mud and 
water, w^as the rule instead. The portly figure of the Major, 
rode at the head of the column, on an old raw-boned white 



74 THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 

horse, that waded with a mechanical regularity of splashing, 
until one unlucky moment, in the very worst place in the 
whole series of swamps, the poor beast stumbled and fell, and 
the Major went sliding over his head, with all due and per- 
pendicular gravity, plump into the mud and mire. The 
performance had a tendency to damage fine clothes, but it did 
the regiment more good than a little; for it roused a freshness 
and jolliness of feeling that lasted till we struck dry land 
again. 

On the afternoon of the 14th, General Kice was ordered to 
proceed with our brigade, with all speed, leaving knapsacks 
behind, to a cross-road, between us and Camden, which the 
rebels were endeavoring to reach before us. It was a forced 
march, and we traveled as fast as possible, actually drawing 
and distributing rations while on the move. We had expected 
to march all night, or nearly so ; but as darkness came on, an 
unusual fatigue began to overpower us, and word was circu- 
lated that we would camp before long. Every mile grew 
longer than the rest, and still the march went on, with no sign 
of stopping. We were worn out, hungry, and longing for the 
brief repose of camp; but our regiment was some where 
toward the rear, and would not come in till most of the others 
had got there. "How far is it to camp?" was the question in 
every one's mind, but no one could answer ; and so we jogged 
wearily on, in silence. At last a cavalry-man came galloping 
toward the rear, and as he neared us, he shouted " Three miles 
to camp! three miles to camp!" Seldom were words more 
welcome. We marched on with renewed vigor, and soon 
found rest for the night ; but the shout of the cavalry-man 
made so strong an impression on the mind of one of our 
regiment, that he penned some lines in remembrance of it, 
which I may be pardoned for introducing here. 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 75 

"THREE MILES TO CAMP!" 

APRIL 14th, 1864, 

Onward marching, ever onward, througli the forest, lone and drear, 
Now fatigue almost o'ercomes us, scarce our limhs their buraen bear. 
Still the evening shadows deepen, yet no sign of rest appears. 
But a horseman comes to meet us, and his glad shout greets our ears : 
"Three miles to camp ! three miles to camp! " 
Pass the word along the column, 
Cheer the weary, cheer the solemn ; 
Soon will rest come now, it's only " thi-ee miles to camp!" 

Now with strength renewed, our footsteps measure off the weary way. 
Till before us "rest and supper, " bright the shining camp-fires say. 
Stretched at ease, we then remember how the day dragged slowly by, 
And how sudden changed our feelings, as we heard that cheering cry, 
" Thi'ee miles to camp ! three miles to camp ! " 
How the word ran down the column, 
Cheering up the sad and solemn ; 
Soon came rest, for quickly passed the three miles to camp. 

So, though gloomy all around us, now the war-clouds seem to lower. 
Peace may not be so far distant: this may be the darkest hour. 
If a message from the future, like that horseman, could but come, 
It might cheer us now with promise of but three months yet to h ome. 
Three montlis to home! three months to home! 
Pass the word along the column. 
Cheering up the sad and solemn; 
Hardships some time will be o'er, and we'll be at home. 

That night we camped at about 9 o'clock, and the night 
was too cold to let us sleep any; but there were plenty of 
rails, and we made them keep us warm, instead of the 
blankets left behind. Next morning, April 15th, reveille 
came at 4 : 30 ; and scarcely time enough was allowed us to 
boil our coffee, to say nothing of drinking it, before we were 
again on the move. By 8 o'clock, there began to be some 
resistance from a party of rebels in front; and from that time 
till about four in the afternoon, there was almost ceaseless 
skirmishing. 

At 9 o'clock, our regiment being at the head of the column, 
and having come pretty close upon the advance-guard of 
cavalry, we suddenly found ourselves in direct range of a rebel 



76 THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 

battery, which at ouce opened upon us. Instantly there was 
an uproar. The shells came tearing through the trees ; and 
there were hasty and contradictory orders, from the front and 
rear, to advance, and to clear the way for the artillery. For 
an instant there was confusion; and then the voice of the 
Major commanding, was heard amid the roar. "Left file," 
he shouted; and we left filed— that is to say, we turned off 
hastily to the left from the road, and attempted to find shelter 
behind a slight ridge of land, from the more direct and point- 
blank range of the masked battery. 

In a few minutes we were ordered across to the other side of 
the road, and posted behind the same ridge, but at the right 
and front of the battery, we were to support. From this 
movement arose, for a day or two, a faint report that " the 33d 
Iowa ran at Poison Springs;" but the lie was so utterly 
baseless, it never spread much beyond the few cowardly 
skulkers from other regiments, who tried to set it going. The 
33d Iowa did not run, did not retreat, did not break in 
confusion, and did not do any more nor less, than any sensible 
regiment would do, under similar circumstances. 

For about an hour and a half there was a very brisk artillery 
combat ; but the rebel shells went either to our left, or through 
the tree-tops above us. Meanwhile our skirmishers were 
deployed on the right front, and were gradually advancing 
across the open field where, behind a thicket, the rebel battery 
was masked. General Rice had ordered the cavalry to flank 
the rebels on our right, but for some cause they failed to come 
up. Had they executed the movement properly, or even had 
our line of skirmishers been doubled and pushed forward, 
the battery must have been captured. As it was, our main 
line lay there and waited, while the artillery-fire grew 
heavier, then gradually diminished, and finally ceased. The 



THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION". 77 

only casualty in our regiment was one man shot through 
the hand, by the accidental discharge of his gun. 

At 10:30 A. M. the rebels had retreated, and we resumed 
the advance. Our regiment remained at the head of the 
column. A small squad of cavalry preceded us, but whenever 
there was any particular danger ahead, they regularly fell 
to the rear. No blame could attach to the men themselves 
for this, for they were the same who fought gloriously on 
greater fields ; but tlieir commander on this expedition seemed 
to us to be contemptibly worthless. 

The day wore slowly on. Most of the time our way led 
through heavy timber. The skirmishing in front was so 
incessant that a ten-minute's silence, as once in a while 
occurred, seemed more noticeable and significant than the 
accustomed popping of the musketry. At frequent intervals 
the regiment was obliged to change formation, and march 
through the woods alternately in colunm, line of battle, 
column by company or platoons, or otherwise, as the circum- 
stances seemed to demand. This made the advance addition- 
ally fatiguing. Having no object but to hinder and annoy us 
as much as possible, the rebels were very bold. At one time, 
while General Rice was riding with his staff at the head of 
our regiment, a rebel on horseback dashed down toward us, 
into plain view, and sent a bullet so close to the General that 
he and all his staff involuntarily " bobbed," and then the dar- 
ing horseman dashed away again. As we neared Camden, the 
rebels made less and less resistance, and finally none at all. 
About a mile and a half from town we were ordered into 
camp, while other regiments went on ; but in a few minutes 
the order was changed, and we marched into town. 

Now was the glory of the cavalry. All along the way, so 
far, they had been willing to go in the rear occasionally ; now 



78 THE CAMDEN EXPEDITION. 

they came rushing valiantly past us, rich with the forage of a 
country where no Union troops had ever been before, and 
charging furiously on as if they were taking the city — yiough 
the fact was that two companies of Infantry had been there 
some time before them. From their performances on this 
15th of April, arose most of our opinion derogatory to the 
name of cavalry. 

At about 6:30 p. m., we began to enter the town, in the w^est- 
ern suburbs. The neat white houses, and the general air of 
the place rather pleased us ; and there seemed to be a lurking 
impression that we would stay there a while. Rumors had 
been in circulation, given with all the usual deflniteness and 
authority, that General Bice with our brigade was to remain 
as garrison of the place, and that this was why we, and not 
others, were sent on in advance of the main column. It was a 
long and uncomfortable walk, fatigued as we were, to wind 
through the streets and past the frowning fort — which made 
us glad the rebels had concluded to evacuate — and then out to 
a desolate, barren place, a half-mile or more from town, where 
neither wood nor water was convenient; but we struggled 
through it at last, and long after dark tumbled down to sleep, 
as best we might after the fatigues of such a day. 

There are always some who, weak and tired as they may be 
during the day's march, even compelled to "give out "and 
wait for an ambulance to carry them, no sooner reach camj) 
than they seem to have strength and life enough to ransack all 
the neighboring country in search of forage; and these now 
found means before morning to gather many a ham and pound 
of sugar, and pone of corn-bread, in most cases bought at a 
very small expenditure of legal tender. Never having seen 
any "green-backs" before, the people were totally ignorant of 
the relation they bore to customary prices, and some were 



THE CAMDEX EXPEDITION. 79 

quite dubious about receiving them at all ; but small was the 
difference to us, whether they took them or not, if only we got 
what eatables we wanted. So here we were now in Camden, 
after a march much harder than any other we had experienced, 
with the exception of one or two days of the march from Hel- 
ena ; and if nothing worse had followed, we should long have 
looked back with feelings of no pleasant remembrance to this 
part of our Camden expedition. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE BETBEAT FBOM CAMDEN. 

Arrived in Camden, tlie march was nominally suspended ; 
but there came little rest for us. We had to move camp some 
where nearly every day we were there; but in justice to our 
commander it should be remarked that we got a better camp 
each time. Since leaving Little Rock there had been no soap 
issued to the men, and therefore there had been almost no 
chance for properly washing clothes. Soap even for faces and 
hands, had been of unparalleled scarcity. Of course, as soon 
as we had rest now, and soap issued, there came unwonted 
activity in the laundry department. Every brook was a tub, 
every bush a clothes-horse, and almost every man a washer- 
woman. On the 18th, from some whim of the Major, or some 
high officer, we had parade for the first time since the expe- 
dition commenced ; and a ragged affair it was. The di*ess- 
coats had been left behind, with the sashes and other extra 
paraphernalia of camp ; and the blouses and pants we wore 
were almost fluttering to the wind in rags. Our band had 
dwindled down to two or three ragged drummers, and as 
many fiftrs who had lost their fifes ; and the principal musi- 
cian had a sore heel, so he paraded up and down the line 
with one bare foot and one shoe on. Altogether, it was a very 
ragged affair, and came probably as near an un-dress parade 

8 



THE RETREAT FROM CAIMDEN. 81 

as the army regulations ever contemplated. Fine feathers 
may make fine birds, but a hard march is "death on style." 

A forage-train of about a hundred wagons, with but a small 
escort, was sent out west from town on the morning of the 
18th. It had gone out about as far as Poison Springs, or 
Washington Cross-Roads— the place where the artillery-duel 
occurred on the loth — when it was attacked by an over- 
whelming force of the enemy, and after a fierce and bloody 
resistance was captured. There was a heavy loss of killed and 
wounded ; but both white and black soldiers kept straggling 
back to town for two or three days afterward, so the total 
of casualties was not known. It was afterward learned that 
a number of the Union soldiers killed there, had been scalped 
by the rebels. Only one or two of our regiment were with 
the train, and they escaped uninjured. There was loud com- 
plaint of the culpable blunder, of sending out such a train, 
under such circumstances, with so small a guard ; but opinion 
varied widely as to the responsibility of the catastrophe. 

Because we had been delayed on the march beyond the 
calculated time, or because the supply-train, under command 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Mackey, ordered from Little Rock, by 
another route, after we started, was behind its time for arrival, 
we were now almost out of rations. Meat could be obtained, 
but hard-tack grew more rare and valuable, with each succeed- 
ing day. A small, steam-mill in town, was kept running at 
all hours of the day and night, grinding corn, but it was by no 
means large enough to supply the demand. Portable iron 
hand-mills were put up, and relays of four hungry men; at a 
time, kept them constantly in motion. Corn was issued 
instead of other food, which was not to be had ; and one day 
our regularly-issued ration was four ears of corn per man. 
7 



82 THE BETREAT PROM CAMDEN. 

On the evening of the 20th of April, the supply-train came 
in. We were heartily ghxd to welcome our colonel, and the 
recruits who came with him ; but the greatest joy was over 
the "good old mail" which came with the train, and was 
distributed that evening. It was the first word we had heard 
from home (>v civilization, since the march began. Little 
could the writers of those letters imagine, how eagerly the 
envelopes were torn open, or how dear and precious the words 
of love and hope, from home, seemed to us, there in the 
enemy's country, and so long cut off from even the comforts of 
a camp. Welcome and prized as letters always were, they 
had never been so much so as now ; and few of us can look 
back to those old days, without remembering " the gO(;d old 
mail we got at Camden." 

Next day came such a scratching of pens on paper as was 
never before known in our regiment. There was word that 
the train would start back to Little Rock in a day or so, and 
take a mail with it ; and so all the long letters we had been 
gradually writing since the march commenced, were now 
closed, and new ones written, and a very large amount of mail 
matter was started for the dear ones at home. Alas ! it never 
arrived! The disaster at Mark's Mills, a few days Inter, 
resulted not only in the capture of some of our own comrades, 
among others, with the train, but in the loss of all that 
heavy mail. Doubtless the rebels " had a good time " in read- 
ing over the words of love and hope, or the expressions of our j 
opinions as to the situation. Well, " turn about is fair play ;" 
and we remembered the Yazoo Pass, where, without any 
undue foraging on our part, so many old letters and other doc- 
uments of the "skedaddling" rebel citizens had fallen into 
our hands. 



THE RETREAT FROM CAMDEN. 83 

Company C, of our regriment, was detailed as part of the 
provost-guard in town. The orders concerning passes were 
very strict. In foct, a man without shoulder-straps could "^ 
hardly get a pass at all ; and the result of course was that the 
men went to town without passes, and didn't experience very 
much difficulty about it either. It is hard for a soldier to 
yield strict obedience always to the letter and spirit of an 
order which is plainly unnecessary and unjust, when he knows 
well enough that he may disregard it with perfect impunity. 
Some there were, indeed, to whom the mere fact of an order 
was law and penalty enough, and who made it a point of 
honor never to transgress it in any way; but we always 
noticed that these were the very men who could generally get 
the least favors of any, while the reckless fellows, who cared 
for orders no further than they feared the consequences, could 
be out of camp without leave and around town half the time, 
and be none the worse off for that. At least, if such was not 
the actual fact, it was certainly the general impression. 

Saturday, the 23d, passed with the usual quiet and listless- 
ness, until about a quarter after four in the afternoon, when 
there was suddenly heard a very brisk cannonading near a 
bridge, not far from town, which our picket-line was guarding. 
In a few minutes we were ordered into line. Men were left in 
camp to pack up the things, and the regiment formed hastily 
and marched over toward the fort. But by this time the 
firing had ceased ; and in a few minutes we returned to camp, 
with orders to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. This is 
no uncommon order in the army, but sometimes it amounts to 
one thing, and some times to another. Oftenest, perhaps, it 
signifies that we would best lay in needful supplies of postage- 
stamps and tobacco, for we may start to-morrow ; but at this 
particular time it meant just what it said. We knew that 



84 THE RETEEAT FROM CAMDEN. 

well enough ; for there was a general feeling among us that we 
were " in a tight place," and might have some trouble in get- 
ting out. So our personal equipments and possessions were 
hastily packed and strapped, and the few cooking materials 
slung together and piled in readiness to be loaded into the 
wagons ; and then came the wearisome, listless sitting around, 
and waiting for the orders which were all the time expected. 
None came, however ; and we tumbled down to sleep that night, 
and stood "at arms" after an early reveille next morning, 
and then settled back into the uncertain rest of camp. The 
cannonading which had so suddenly come and gone, appeared 
to be either a disproportionately heavy, though unsuccessful, 
attack on the small force defending the bridge, or an exagger- 
ated feint to cover the attack on our train at Mark's Mills. 
Either way, it was a strange little affair; but the latter view 
seemed most probable. 

The arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Mackey had of course 
displaced Major Gibson from command of the regiment. 
Whatever the general opinion of the military capacity he 
displayed may have been, he was certainly esteemed and 
respected as a man. Coming to the conclusion that he could 
serve the country better as a citizen than as a soldier, he had 
tendered his resignation, which was immediately accepted, 
and had started for home with the train from Camden. Cap- 
tured with that, he was taken to Texas, and suffered much 
hardship before being finally released. One or two private 
soldiers of our regiment were captured at the same time, and 
died in a rebel prison. 

The night of the 2.5th came with as much quiet as usual ; 
there were no signs of any movement; but there seemed to 
be a strange feeling among us — a kind of presentiment — that 
"some thing was going to happen." Causeless as it might 



THE RETREAT FROM CAMDEN. 85 

have been, it was so strong that some of us, after going to 
bed and lying restless for some time, finally got up and 
packed our things and made ready to move. It was not much 
too soon. About 11 o'clock the acting-adjutant, Lieutenant 
Pearce, came round and silently waked the regiment with 
the order to immediately make ready to leave. Perhaps no 
order was ever executed more quickly or quietly. In a few 
moments we were on the march, in the darkness of the Sum- 
mer night. 

Before long the word passed round that the cavalry had 
been sent out to Mark's Mills, and we were moving to take 
their place on guard. Reaching an open place in the brush 
some two miles south of town, we spread ourselves down to 
sleep for the rest of the night. At sun-rise next morning 
without reveille, or any thing else whatever, to waken 
us, the whole regiment simultaneously rose, shook and rolled 
up blankets, and prepared for the day. It was a strange 
coincidence of thought and feeling, springing from a common 
knowledge of a common danger. Our duty on the 26th was 
merely to remain near the line of arms. Toward noon there 
came up word from town that preparations were making for a 
hasty retreat. Wagons, tents, mess-chests, cooking utensils, 
hard-tack and meat, were destroyed by the quantity. Box 
after box of crackers were burned, which would have been 
better distributed to the soldiers who soon were in need of 
them. About 2 o'clock a couple of wagons brought up our 
rations, and their scanty amount was divided among us. 
Some companies, for some cause, received much more per 
man than others. Some men drew but just two crackers, with 
a small amount of meal, some meat, and coffee, for the full 
supply that was to last them till we reached Little Rock; 
and many had not more than two crackers and a half-pint of 



86 THE RETREAT FROM CAMDEX. 

meal. A few were fortunate enough to get their meal baked 
up into corn-cakes at houses near, before we started, but the 
rest had to cook it themselves, as best they might, along the 
road. 

It was evidently supposed that the rebels were so near, 
they would speedily hear of our movements; and the inten- 
tion was to give them no warning of our retreat. So we had 
tattoo on the drums that night, with all the noise they could 
make; and an hour after that, when the bass drum should 
sound the "taps" at 9 o'clock, the regiment was to silently 
fall into line, and move off witliout further orders. This hour 
of waiting was a long one. Seated on the grassy slope, we 
speculated upon the strange appearance of circumstances, and 
forecasted trouble for the future. This was evidently to be a 
forced retreat, and in no encouraging way; but we could only 
obey orders, and be cheerful, and so we tried to do. Nine 
o'clock came at last; the bass drum sounded the "taps" with 
unearthly noise ; and the regiment fell silently into line, and 
over the soft grass, moved noiselessly away. There was an 
enforced halt at the pontoon across the river; and here the 
woolen blankets began to come out of the knapsacks. It 
would never do to leave them for the rebels, and so most of 
them were cut up and destroyed ; but of those that were then 
and afterward thrown awaj^ the artillery-men, who came 
after us, and who, of course, rode most of the time on their 
guns and caissons, gathered up a great many, which they sold 
at a big profit, when we reached Little Rock again. So 
artillery-men, like other folks, make money some times from 
the calamities of their companions. 

For about three miles from the pontoon-crossing, the road 
lay in such direction, as to be fully commanded by a battery, 
near where we had camped the night previous ; and over this 



THE RETREAT FROM CAMDEN. 87 

rooid oar commanding-officers passed with us anxiously, fearing 
lest tlie rebels, who were known to be marching close upon us, 
might reach that battery in time to bring a few guns to bear, 
and so cut off our retreat. Most of the men, however, knew 
nothing of this, and therefore passed over the ground, as quiet 
and careless as usual. The event proved that the rebels were 
farther behind than was supposed, and that they really did 
not reach the river, till some time the next evening. 
About two o'clock in the night, the dangerous three miles 
having been passed over, we overtook that part of the 
column which had crossed the river before us. Here came a 
halt; and without any orders, (a most remarkable thing for 
soldiers), every body tumbled down on the ground to sleep. 
There was the most perfect equality and democracy, we had 
ever seen in the army. The officers had no "sleeping uten- 
sils" with them, and therefore, had to lie down as they were. 
General Rice was fortunate enough to have a cloak to lie on. 
He made a pillow of the bodies of one or two sleepy soldiers, 
who happened to be near him. One of the men happened to 
awake about 4 o'clock, and in moving a little, he almost 
stumbled over our division-commander, stretched upon the 
bare ground, with his feet to the fire, and looking like any 
other Dutchman. 

The next day, the 27th of April, was clear and warm. Our 
loads were very heavy, and the march was very hard. No 
attack was as yet made in the rear, and hence grew rumors 
that the rebels had got around between us and Little Rock. 
Signs enough of the precipitation of our retreat appeared in 
the constant succession of shreds of clothing, pieces of knap- 
sacks, and other fragments, which fatigue compelled our men 
to throw away. Next morning, Thursday, reveille was 
sounded with the bugles at five ; and in twenty-six minutes 



88 THE RETREAT FliOM CAMDEN. 

from that time — before we could possibly make coffee and 
drink it — the march re-commenced. Never before had we 
seen sufch haste when a whole column was moving. Marching 
as fast as we could under the circumstances, we reached the 
well-built and pleasant looking little town of Princeton, about 
1 o'clock, and after considerable delay went into camp in an 
old corn-field. 

Rumors so various and contradictory that one could hardly 
put the least faith in any of them, were now flying thick 
among us. The most general belief, however, proved in the 
end to be the correct one — that the train sent out from Cam- 
den had been captured, the prisoners sent to Texas, and the 
wounded taken to Mt. Elba, a settlement not many miles 
distant, where the inhabitants were treating them kindly, and 
taking good care of them. One or two men who had fortu- 
nately escaped from the disaster at Mark's Mills, and liad 
wandered through the wood for two or three days, living as 
best they might, now found and joined us. 

For a few miles north from Princeton the road lay through 
the country which reminded us all of Iowa. No similarity 
of the kind we had ever noticed in the South, was more 
striking; but for one great difference we were proud and 
thankful — that the groves and prairies of Iowa had never 
trembled to the tread of hostile soldiers. About noon of 
Fi'iday it commenced raining ; and before night the mud was 
very bad. The rebels were now coming close upon us, and 
occasional cannonading in the rear was heard during the after- 
noon. Every night since leaving Camden we had camped in 
a corn-field, and this night was no exception ; but the corn- 
field here was lower, wetter and more comfortless than ever. 
Nothing dry could be found to lie on, and there was no shel- 
ter from the soaking rain. For two or three days and nights 



THE RETREAT FROM CAMDEX. 89 

we had had little of sleep and less of food ; but bad as circum- 
stances seemed, there was yet worse to come. 

We contrived some way to find a little hard-tack and beef 
for supper, but the scanty meal was hardly done when our 
regiment was ordered back to the rear, where heavy skirmish- 
ing was now going on. Gloomily we gathered up our things, 
and tramped wearily back through the mud and water in the 
almost utter darkness ; but before we could reach the rear out- 
posts the skirmishing had ceased, and we were then distri- 
buted by companies as a kind of extra picket. During the 
greater part of the night it rained heavily. Even if we had 
not been on duty, there was no dry place to lie down ; and if 
there had been, the rain was too cold a covering. So, wearily 
and cheerlessly passed another night, fit prelude for the bloody 
morrow. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE BATTLE OF JENKIISTS' FERRY. 

The morning of April 30, 1S64, was a gloomy one for our 
little army ; and the exceedingly unpleasant weather was but 
an unimportant item among so much else that was disagreea- 
ble. Worn down as we were with fatigue, fasting and loss of 
sleep, we saw ourselves now almost surrounded by an evi- 
dently overwhelming force of the enemj^, who certainly had 
good reasons to expect a full and easy triumph. But "the 
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." 

Early in the morning our regiment came back from the rear 
out-post where we had passed the preceding night on duty, to 
a place some half a mile nearer the river than the corn-field 
previously mentioned. Soon the battle commenced, with a 
heavy musketry-fire in the rear. The rebels had swung their 
long lines of regiment after regiment around upon the hights, 
which described some thing like a semi-circle around that part 
of the swampy and heavily-timbered river-bottom where we 
lay ; and they were now closing in to press us, unprepared, to 
the brink of the river, where their overwhelming numbers 
seemed to insure our total rout and capture. Almost immedi- 
ately at the commencement of the battle our regiment was 
ordered back to the thickest of it, and was soon part of that 

gallant line of defense which for seven mortal hours, by the 
g 



THE BATTLE OP JENKIXS' FERRY. 91 

pure force and energy of courage in desperation, repulsed 
every charge of the surprised and maddened foe, whose 
doubled ranks bore heavily down upon the thin line which 
Nve only could bring to oppose theni. 

The conflict was terrible to experience, but brief to tell. 
Seven mortal hours, with such fierce vigor and determination 
that the fire of musketry became one undistinguishable and 
unbroken roar. Charge after charge was made by the yelling 
rebels, only to be broken upon our line, or if possibly succeed- 
ing for a moment, to give way at last to a charge of still 
deeper and more deadly determination from oui own brave 
men. The field presented little of advantage to friend or foe. 
A heavily -timbered bottom, swampy at best, and now so 
covered with water that a foot could not rest on land alone, it 
would have been under any other circumstances, deemed 
impassable. 

The battle had not long continued before a dense cloud of 
powder-smoke settled so closely down, that at a few feet 
distant, nothing was distinguishable. It seemed now almost 
impossible to fire otherwise than at random. The rebels 
did, indeed, mostly fire too high or to low. Had they 
aimed with any thing like the usual accuracy, few of us could 
have escaped. But our men, with that individual thought 
and action, which makes the term "thinking bayonets" more 
appropriate to Western troops, than to any others, soon learned 
to stoop down, and look under the smoke sufficiently to 
discover the precise position of the rebel masses; and then a 
horizontal fire at the level of the breast, could not Hiil to hit 
its mark, unless a tree stood in the way. The crowded and 
more than double formation of rebel lines, must have suffered 
a dreadful slaughter. 



92 THE BATTLE OF JENKINS' FERUY. 

Our own ranks, too, were badly thinned. Many had already 
fallen, both officers and nien, when Colonel Mackey, riding 
along the line and urging to continued action, had his arm 
shattered by a musket-ball, and was compelled to leave the 
field. Concealing the loss as much as possible from the regi- 
ment, Major Boydston assumed command, and gave all his 
energies to the protracted conflict. Of the more severely 
wounded, some were borne from the field, but most had to 
remain unheeded. The living were too busy to attend tho 
dead. It is hard to see a dear friend and comrade shot down 
by your side, and hear his piteous cries for help, and be 
unable to stop even to put a canteen of water to his lips, but 
to leave him like a dog to die as he fell, unheeded in the din 
and carnage of the battle; yet so it was, then. Thank God! 
that day is past. 

The battle of Jenkins' Ferry, was one of musketry alone. 
The rebels brought one battery to bear upon us, and fired three 
or four shots from it; but the 29th Iowa and 2d Kansas colored 
infantry, charged upon it, and captured its guns. A battery 
of our own was posted at the corner of the previously men- 
tioned corn-field, to be opened on the rebels, if they should 
drive our line back too fixr ; but it was not found necessary to 
fire a single shot from it. AVhile the battle was going on in 
the rear, our non-combatant forces were not idle. All of the 
train and stores that could be saved, were sent across the river, 
on the pontoon that had been laid ; and the pontoon-wagons, 
and large quantities of stores were broken, scattered and 
destroyed. In this moving of the train, mostly at night, over 
an almost impassable road, was but another example of the 
additional power men acquire from sheer desperation. 

Such a conflict as this, in the swamps and rain, could not 
last forever. About two o'clock in the afternoon, the day 



THE BATTLE OF JENKINS' FERRY. 93 

was won. Desperate courage had conquered numbers and 
power. The rebels abandoned the field, all their dead and 
wounded, and as we afterward learned, fell back iu such haste 
and confusion, that one of their ov\ n batteries was by accident, 
turned upon them— the echo of whose suicidal shells was not 
unwelcome to our ears. Few and exhausted as we were, 
retreat also, was our only hope of safety. Leaving dead and 
wounded on the field, but with men to care for them, our 
forces, victorious, yet sad, withdrew toward the river, and 
resumed the interrupted march; and as the last straggling 
comjDany crossed the swollen stream, the pontoon was cut 
away, and the Saline was a temporary line of separation 
between us and the foe. The loss of our regiment in the battle 
was: killed on the field — eight; wounded — one hundred and 
thirteen; missing — twelve; total — one hundred and twenty- 
three. The names of killed, wounded and prisoners, will be 
found appropriately marked in the Roll of the Regiment, in 
the x\ppeudix. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



I.TTTLE KOCK AGAIX. 

On the south side of the Saline, the mud was as bad as possi- 
ble; on the north side it Avas as much worse than that, as that 
was worse than ordinary. Crossing the river, we found our- 
selves in a slough, which was in places waist-deep; and in 
which we waded, rather than walked, for some three miles. 
Teams stuck, and were abandoned. One wagon contained 
a half-dozen negro babies, of assorted sizes, belonging to the 
colored Americans gathered to us since we started, which had 
been left tliere, stuck in the slough, drawn there by the feeblest 
of all possible mules, that was just executing his last drowning 
kick as we waded by. One negro woman, as was told by 
many who said they witnessed the incident, having carried 
her baby as long as she felt able, threw it away and left it, as- 
a soldier would his knapsack. What became of the child can 
not be told ; but probably it was not the only one abandoned. 

About three miles from the river we came to land again, and 
Avent into camp, in the midst of a steady rain; but before long 
the clouds turned their dry side toward us, and the rousing 
camp-fires made a show of comfort. There was rest now, in 
prospect, but little food. Many of the men's rations were 
entirely exhausted, and all were nearly so ; but there was no 
help for us till we reached Little Rock. Sleep instead of food 



LITTLE ROCK AGAIN, 95 

will do very well, if one can but get it; and we were weary 
and exhausted enough to try it. At a little after mid-night, 
however, the order came, to burn our wagons and most of our 
equipage, and be ready to march at 4 o'clock in the morning. 
We privates were not so much interested in the wagons just 
then, but the officers had all their fine clothes in thera; so there 
came a sudden change of garments, to save the best from 
burning; and men who had laid down ragged and dirty at 
dark were seen at day-light finely dressed in glossy coats with 
shining buttons, but hungry and tired as ever. Mess-chests, 
company-boxes, &c., made excellent fuel; and by their blaze 
the coffee was boiled and the poor pretense of breakfast eaten. 
" The 1st of May is moving day." At 4 o'clock in the morn- 
ing we were moving. Our division was in the front, and our 
regiment, train-guard. There was a mile or two of marching 
through mud-holes, and then came the mud in earnest. A 
pine swamp of four miles' width, in the worst possible condi- 
tion naturally, and now cut up into almost unfathomable soft- 
ness by the wagons and artillery that had already crossed it, 
lay between us and solid land again. Oh ! the interminable 
teams in that dreary swamp ! Driven to the last extreme of 
haste by the imperative necessity for food, and expecting 
every minute to hear the guns of the once repulsed, but still 
overwhelming enemy, open upon our rear, there we were com- 
pelled to wait and linger, while the long train of wagons 
would stick in the mud, and the mules would flounder in the 
mire. One of the most wearisome and vexatious things in 
the world is compulsory delay ; and here we had it under the 
most disagreeable circumstances. Many as were the wagons 
that had been destroyed, the train still stretched out appar- 
ently two or three miles. Our duty as train-guard tliat day, 
was to cut down all the young pine trees near, bring 



96 lilTTLE EOCK AGAIN. 

them on our backs to that deepest part of the mire, which was 
called the road, and so build corduroy across most of the 
swamp. When a w^agon stuck— and all the wagons were 
constantly sticking— every endeavor was made to raise it out 
of the mud and get it moving again. If all means failed, the 
mules were unhitched, and the wagon broken and burned ; 
and so all over the swamp, near the road, were burning 
wagons and their scattered contents. If the cartridges that 
were sown that day should bear fruit even sixty-fold, there 
would never be peace any more. Whenever a wagon was 
fired, most or all of its contents were thrown into the water 
bunches and elsewhere; but still the occasional explosions 
of powder, cartridges, &c., lent variety without beauty to 
the scene. 

At last the four miles wore away, and between one and two 
p. M. we came to land again. From this time until dark, the 
march went fast and steadily. AH day the weather had been 
clear and pleasant; but perhaps no one had thought of its 
being Sunday. Notwithstanding all the rumors and fears, 
the rebels made no further demonstrations. One good trial 
had been enough for them; and certainly we were as well 
pleased as ever JeflF. Davis was to be "let alone." Some where 
near dark there came a halt, with the usual appearances of 
going into camp. An open field in front of us was aglow 
along one side with fires that looked like the camp-fires of 
regiments that had marched in tlie advance. Worn and 
weary as we were, and faint from the loss of food and sleep, 
the idea of camping for the night, seemed as pleasant as com- 
ing home might be at some other time. But there was to be 
no rest. The halt was only caused by another series of mud- 
holes, and the fires had been kindled as lights along the road. 



LITTLE ROCK AGAIN. 97 

And all that night the march continued, with no stop but 
what the mud enforced, till four o'clock next morning. The 
road was all the way through timber ; and details of cavalry 
kindled and kqpt up continuous fires, till through the whole 
forest ran a sinuous Ime of fitful flames. It was a strange, 
wild time. AVe were now almost at the limits of human 
powers of endurance. Nature will be revenged at last, for 
there is a point where even her forbearance ceases. All 
through the night there came frequent little halts of a 
moment or two, caused by some wagon sticking in a mud- 
hole; and at every such halt, the instant we ceased moving 
we were asleep. Many did not feel safe to stop thus, without 
asking some comrade to be sure and wake them when the 
start was made; and many actually slept while marching. 

Morning came at last, but brought no rest. Having no thing 
to eat, we did not need to halt for breakfast or dinner; and so 
we steadily marched on. Still the reports came that the 
rebels were between us and Little Rock. We had been hun- 
gry for some time, but now began to actually suffer for w^ant 
of food. One man paid a comrade two dollars for a single 
hard-tack, and another traded a silver watch for two of them. 
That afternoon, between three and four o'clock, we came out 
upon the Benton road, and then knew where we were; and 
in an hour or so we caniped, this last night of the march, 
on the very ground where we had camped the first night of 
the expedition, more than a month before. How we con- 
trasted the two nights! and how long seemed the time 
between them ! 

Kindling fires and making cofice — for this soldier's solace 
was not yet exhausted— we flung ourselves down to rest. In 
an hour or two there arose a shout in the advance, which was 
quickly caught up and passed down the line. The rations had 



98 LITTLE ROCK AGAIN. 

come ! Orders had been sent into Little Bock for food ; and 
besides the rej?ular issues by the Quarter-master, our comrades 
left in camp there, had gathered and sent out all they had, to 
aid us. Never were rations more speedily distributed, or 
"hard-tack and sow-belly" put inside of blue uniforms with 
greater haste. The worst was now over. The night was alto- 
gether too cold for comfort, but sleep was a necessity and came 
of course. 

Next morning the march was renewed with better hope and 
vigor. We felt as if almost home. At 10:30 Fort Steele was 
in sight ; and not even the memory of the dreary days of 
fatigue-duty oa its walls could make it seem unwelcome. 
Halting now to form in better order, the prisoners captured on 
the march were put between closer files, the ranks all better 
"dressed," and the "mule brigade" — composed of the sick, 
weak and wounded who were unable to walk, but who on 
reporting to the doctor had been supplied with mules — 
formed in some thing like regular military style. There 
would undoubtedly have been a good deal of music, but the 
fifes and drums had been so nearly used up on the campaign, 
the pounding was hardly as lively as usual. 

Marching down through town on the old, familiar streets, 
and past General Steele's head-quarters, we finally reached our 
own old camp before noon. Oh ! it was joy to be there again ! 
It seemed like home. The welcomes of the comrades who had 
been left there were warm and cordial; but some thing to eat 
was the first, and the mail the second, great object of attention. 
Every thing eatable disappeared like grass before an army of 
locusts; and it seemed almost strange to be where we could 
get plenty to eat again. Then came the rest, which took a 
good while. It seemed almost dream-like to be back there in 
our old camp — almost too good to be true. We were glad 



LITTLE ROCK AGAIN. 99 

and thankful. Colonel Mackley being disabled, Captain 
Boydston was temporarily in command of the regiment— a 
duty of which the chief visible point was to hold parade. 

And so was ended the Camden Expedition. Considering the 
object in primary view, it was a failure; and it narrowly 
escaped ending in a terrible defeat. But if examples of stern 
and determined endurance, of desperate courage successfully 
resisting the force of overwhelming numbers, of faithful 
attempts to obey orders, and cheerful fortitude in braving 
disaster, are worthy of remembrance, our memories of the 
Camden Expedition need not be less proud than terrible. 



CHAPTER XIY. 



CAMP AND GAKRISON'. 

Soon after our return to Little Rock, Captain Lofland, of 
Company I), having been promoted to lieutenant-colonel, 
assumed command of the regiment. Renewed attention was 
now paid to drill and discipline, and tlie result was marked 
improvement. But it was hard for us, after so much soldier- 
ing as we had tried, to see the practical benefit of so much 
daily drill ; and the more experience we had, the stronger 
grew our conviction that half the drilling in the army is of no 
use so far as fighting is concerned, but that it serves only to 
make appearances better on reviews and other dress occasions. 
Drill in loading and firing, and in some of the more common 
and necessary evolutions, is all we could ever find to be of 
any use in actual battle. The skirmish-drill, however, we 
admitted to be valuable and necessary; and more attention 
was now paid to it. The buglers and other musicians were 
put through a regular daily drill; and the non-commissioned 
ofBcers were for some weeks assembled every evening for prac- 
tice in the bugle signal for skirmishers. 

On the iSth of May a flag of truce brought in some letters 
from our wounded comrades of tlie battle of Jenkins' Ferry, 
who were held as prisoners at Mt. Elba, Princeto:i and Cam- 
den; and letters, medicines and clothing were sent out in 

10 



CAMP AND GARRISON. 101 

return. Small ns the consolation was of thus hearing from 
imprisoned and suffering comrades, it was much better than 
the barbarous treatment of those who fell into rebel hands in 
other places. And for this amenity in warfare we believe we 
have to thank the rebel General Price. 

Among the other improvements now undertaken in camp, 
our acting-adjutant, Lieutenant C. H. Sharman, Company G, 
commenced the preparation of an entire new set of regimental 
books. They were finished in about a month, and were com- 
mended by every Inspecting Officer as peculiarly neat, full 
and correct. During the retreat from Camden the most of 
our regimental- and company-records had been burned among 
the other luggage, by order of the commanding-general ; and 
it was therefore difficult afterward, to make all the accounts 
come out square. 

The monotony of camp- and garrison-duty, picket and 
fatigue, picket and fatigue, over and again, and that contin- 
ually, was interrupted by little more tban frequent walks 
around town. There were of course details occasionally made 
for guards to accompany boats carrying provisions to Fort 
Smith, Pine Bluffs and elsewhere; and on some of these trips 
there were stirring times, when a squad of rebels would attack 
the boat. Every time a boat went out from Little Rock, 
before it returned, reports would come of its having been 
attacked, captured, sunk, &c.; but generally there would be 
little truth in them. On one occasion, however, one man of 
our regiment was mortally wounded during an attack on a 
boat between Little Rock and Fort Smith. 

In the afternoon of Monday, June 6th, there was a grand 
review of our division, before Major-General Sickles, then on 
his tour as General Inspecting Officer; and on the 20th, our 
brigade was reviewed by Colonel Marcy, of the Regular Army. 



102 CAMP AND GARRISON. 

Reviews and Inspections seemed now to be about the only 
occupation of general officers. On these occasions the field- 
music of the brigade was usually massed at the head of the 
column, so as to supply the whole four regiments together. 
One advantage of this was that there was no mixing up of 
time by different bands ; but there was the disadvantage that 
not even the racket of ten or twenty fifes, fifteen or twenty 
snare-drums, and two or three bass-drums could all the time 
be heard by the whole brigade. 

Toward the last of June, the ceremony of brigade-guard- 
mounting was instituted. It was held on the open space, 
between us and the camp of the 29th, where formerly stood 
the cabins of the 3d Iowa battery. The bands of the brigade 
took turns in furnishing the music. On the 3d of July our 
former Major, H. D. Gibson, who, on his way home from 
Camden had been captured at Mark's Mills, and had suffered 
great hardships during his captivity at Tyler, Texas, arrived 
in camp, clad in a i)oor suit of butternut homespun, with an 
old straw hat and not the best foot-gear in the world, and 
looking very unlike the portly and comfortable Major he 
was when we last saw him. Having at last succeeded in 
obtaining a release from the rebels, he had footed it so far 
toward home, and in a few weeks more he was safe in the 
North again. 

The 4th of July this year passed very quietly. The only 
celebration of the day in Little Rock was that all the regi- 
ments at the post stood in arms on their color-lines, while a 
national salute was fired from Fort Steele. It was a tame 
enough affair for us who had "seen the 4th at Helena." For 
some cause or other, we never knew definitely what, there 
came now a time when we could send no letters home. The 
mails would leave camp as usual, but as we afterward learned, 



CAMP AND GARRISON. 103 

they did not leave Duvall's Bluff for a month or more. July 
'lOth there was an alarm of attack on some of our force guard- 
ing the railroad from Little Rock to the Bluff, and a thousand 
men from our brigade, with a day's rations and sixty rounds 
of amunition were immediately sent out as re-inforcements; 
but they came back a little after noon, with orders to hold 
themselves in readiness, and were never called for again. 

Next evening, the 17th, in an almost perfectly clear sky, as 
some of us were looking dreamily, we perceived a long and 
very slender line of white cloud, reaching across the sky from 
north-west to south-east, tracing the side of a shield of very 
nearly the usual shape. Of course it had to be made an 
" omen " in some way ; and so every man drew his own infer- 
ences or forebodings. 

On the 21st of July, the news reached us of the death of 
General Samuel A. Rice, at his residence in Iowa, from 
wounds received at the battle of^ Jenkins' Ferry. Half-hour- 
guns were fired from Fort Steele during the day, in honor of 
his memory. 

The time still passed monotonously in garrison-duty. Occa- 
sionally, by way of variety, some of the oflftcers would get up 
a "grand rat-ification meeting" by prying up the floors of 
their tents, upon which whole droves of rats would immedi- 
ately scatter themselves promiscously over camp, to be cap- 
tured and killed by the gathered braves, who, armed with 
sticks, would go through the contest with great military dis- 
play if not much tactical order. The pay-master arrived on 
the 15th of August, and paid us for the past six months. On 
the 19th a recruiting-party, consisting of two line and several 
non-commissioned officers from the regiment, started for 
Iowa. How we almost envied them! About this time there 
began to be rumors that " Mr. Price" was collecting a number 



lOi CAMP AND GARKISON. 

of liis friends, to come and pay us a visit; and there was 
much speculation in camp as to whether he would be able to 
come inside of our lines if he should try it. The garrison of 
the place was now so reduced, we felt very doubti"ul of our 
ability to withstand a strong attack. On the 2-Ith of the 
month, by the efforts ot Lieutenant-Colonel Lofland, we drew 
entirely new arms and equipments, which at least improved 
the appearance of the regiment, if not its effective fighting 
l)Ower. 

In the first days of September, the rumors of approaching 
attack became so strong that the almost invariable order in case 
of alarm was received — " Reveille at three, and stand at arms 
till sun-rise," to which we were by this time so accustomed that 
it was obeyed after the easy interpretation, by stacking arms 
on the color-line and then breaking ranks. But the rumors 
came thick and fast, and lost no thing as they came. Sunday 
morning at 3 o'clock our bugle sounded, and was immediately 
echoed all over town. The whole force was in arms and line. 
That night we went to bed as usual ; but at 10 o'clock the 
"assembly" called us out, and with arms, canteens and rnbber 
blankets we marched out to a portion of the defenses, , some 
two miles west of camjj, and then tumbled down and slept 
till some time the next forenoon, M^aiting for Mr. Price. 

Monday was hot and cloudless. Tiring of that bare place 
on the ground, we moved a little nearer to the wood, and 
went hard at work putting up a shade, of posts, poles and 
boughs, as protection from the intense rays of the sun. Just 
as we got it well fixed, and were ready to rest awhile under it, 
the order came to move back to camp again ; and so regretfully 
we left our woodland bower. "Locking the stable after the 
horse is lost," is hardly considered a wise rule of action. Now 
that the danger was apparently over, or so much so that we 



CAMr AXD GARUISOX. 100 

need no lon^^er remain under jirms "nd in the line of defenses, 
there came very heavy details for fatigue-parties to throw up 
earth-works, which, it seemed to us, ordinary common sense 
vv'ould never have omitted so long. 

On the next day, however, these heavy details for unusual 
hours of labor were countermanded; the stars and stripes, 
which for the past tvv^o or three days, had given phice to the 
red hospital-flag, were again run up to the top of the tall flag- 
staff, in front of the general hospital; and things seemed 
suddenly to have settled back to the statu quo. This quick 
transition from one state of affairs to the appearance of 
another, produced much mystification and distrust ; but the 
facts at the bottom of it, when we learned them, v/ere plain 
enough: Mr. Price had simply "passed by on the other side," 
and gone up toward Missouri. 

Drills and parades, inspections and reviews, returned now 
with increased persistence, and took about all the time that 
picket- and fatigue-duty left unoccupied. Brigade-guard- 
mounting, was still the daily order. On the 23d of September, 
an added interest was given it, by the first appearance of our 
new brigade brass band— usually styled among us "Mein 
Bender's Band," as General Salomon called it— from Milwau- 
kee, Wisconsin. This band was composed of some fifteen or 
twenty musicians, nearly all Germans. It discoursed really 
excellent music, and was a credit to the brigade. No dress 
occasion was complete without them; and when not on public- 
duty, they were kept very busy in serenading different officers 
around town. On the 25th of the month, for the sake of still 
higher "style," and perhaps, also, for the sake of giving the 
general and field officers some thing to attend to, division- 
guard-mouuting was instituted. This was a somew^hat impos- 
ing display. All the guakl-details of our whole division, and 



106 CAMP AND GARRISON. 

all the officers not on duty at the time, had to attend in full 
uniform; and the whole was a spectacle with much of the 
"pomp and circumstance" about it. There was usually a 
large number of spectators, both soldiers and citizens; and 
even the commanding-general occasionally came out to look 
on. 

News still came some times from the outside world. On the 
4th of October, one hundred guns were fired, from the five 
different forts around town, in honor of Sheridan's great 
victory in the Shenandoah Valley. On the 8th, further news 
came of a tremendous victory gained by General Grant, in 
which he was said to have captured twenty-five hundred 
prisoners and one hundred guns. This, however, seemed then, 
as it afterward proved to be, altogether too good to be true. 
Accompanying all these good reports, but more real than they, 
Colonel Mackey returned to the regiment, from an absence of 
three or four months in Iowa, with his wounded arm so nearly 
well, as to allow of his assuming his command. 

Preparations were now commenced toward fitting the camp 
for Winter. The ofificers began building new cabins, and the 
streets were all changed and cleared. Among the other 
improvements, perhaps, the three new brass drums received 
for the band, are worth a mention. Company G contributed 
forty dollars to buy a brass drum for "Tommy," in whose 
drumming they had well-merited pride; and not to be out- 
shone entirely, the drummer of Company H, and "Johnny" 
of Company I, bought new drums at their own expense. 
These, of course, added much to the noise and rattle of the 
"music." There were expectations now of our remaining in 
quarters for the Winter; and circumstances certainly seemed 
to indicate it. But "all signs fail in a dry time;" and there 



CAMP AND GARRISON". 107 

is no dependance to be placed on them in the army. The 
monotony was soon broken. Of course, if there was any 
thing to be done, the 33d was the regiment to do it ; and soon 
the unwelcome order came for a move. 



CHAPTER XY. 



TO FORT SMITH AND BACK. 

On Sunday, October GO, 1864, our regiment, with a section of 
the 3d Iowa battery, started out as escort of a train of supplies 
for Fort Smith. Nothing very special occurred at the com- 
mencement of this march. We w^ere used to the business, and 
knew by this time "how to make the best of it." For the 
first night we camped in the wood about eight miles from 
town ; the second night, at the Palaime Bayou ; the third 
night, on the Arkansas river, some three miles from the Cad- 
ron, where we had to lie over one day to wait for the train to 
cross the little river. Here some sport and excitement were 
caused by a chase after half-wild horses on the river bottom. 
Several of them were finally lassoed. 

Not far from noon the 4th of November, we entered Lew- 
isburg, and camped in the outer edge of the little town. The 
night was cold, with a severe frost; and this made the hard 
ground a rather cold bed for us. Next day we passed through 
some country wiiich looked very much like Iowa — a simi- 
larity sure to be noticed — but the likeness soon ceased. About 
five miles from Lewisburg we came upon the Carroll form — 
the largest plantation w^e Iiad ever seen. Thousands of acres 
of fertile bottom-lands, now in total neglect, and overgrown 
with weeds, seemed a fit place for the "deserted village" of 

10 8 



TO FORT SMITH AXD l^ACK. 109 

negro-quarters vviiich stood at a respectful distance frojji the 
planter's door. Of course, "the ole man wuz goud, an' the 
niggers wuz in Texas." 

On the night of the 5th, we camped some eleven miles west 
of Lewisburg. Just in advance of us was a company of col- 
-, red infantry, and beyond them a part of the 2d Arkansas 
Infantry, who were to go with us tlie rest of the way. Tliis 
camp of the 2d Arkansas was the queerest thing in the mili- 
tary line in all our experience. The members of the regiment 
had formerly lived some where in this part of the State; and 
they were now moving all their wives, children, stock, furni- 
ture, wagons, and other property, to Fort Smith. Every thing 
among them seemed to us to be in promiscuous confusion. 
We were not accustomed to the sight of soldiers among their 
families. It must have been hard for women and children to 
take such a march at such a time, and under those circumstan- 
ces ; but there were many among them who at the hands of 
the fiends of rebel guerrillas, their own neighbor's family, had 
suffered wrongs and cruelties compared with which, these 
hards Jiips were as nothing. After talking some time with 
them, and v/ith other Southerners who were, and had always 
been truly loyal, we frequently declared to ourselves that so 
long as our dear ones at home were safe and comfortable, we 
would grumble no more — that we knew no thing of the hard- 
ships and troubles of the war. 

During this halt dispatches were received, announcing the 
defeat of Price and his rebels in Missouri, and their scattered 
retreat toward the Arkansas river. Some doubt was enter- 
tained of the expediency of our passing very near his flying 
colum.ns ; and a delay of one day in our march was therefore 
attributed to this cause. On the 7th, starting on again, we 
made about fourteen miles, and camped for the niglit around 



110 TO FORT SMITH AND BACK. 

the residence of a Mr. Potts, an arrant old rebel. A large 
white house, with big barns and granaries, commanding a 
near view of the abrupt and imposing " Carrion-Crow Moun- 
tain," it would have been a good enough home for a much 
better man. Foraging was prohibited, but not prevented, 
and the secesh proprietor of the premises unwillingly contri- 
buted to the Union army enough to make us two pretty good 
meals, at least, and very probably suffered the loss of more. 

All along the road, the country hereabouts seemed to be 
good, and well settled. The women and children appeared to 
be all gathered at the neighbors' houses to look at us, while 
the men were out in the woods "bushwhacking." There was 
considerable apprehension among us of trouble with these 
bushwhackers, and frequent reports came of our having been 
fired into from the sides of the road ; but most or all of these 
stories, when traced up, were found to start from some wagon- 
master or train-teamster. 

About 1:30 P. M., of November 8th, we camped in a field on 
the Illinois bayou, three miles from Russellville. In a little 
while a small wedge-tent was put up, rude tables constructed 
under it, and the polls opened for election. We felt that on 
this day the great conflict was to be decided, and we did our 
duty as v/e could. That night it rained hard, and did not stop 
till it turned cold next morning:. This made a very uncom- 
fortable time. A warm rain, if followed by a clear, warm 
day, is little heeded in the army ; but a soaking flood of water, 
followed only by clouds, cold and winds, is exceedingly 
unwelcome. Hesuming the march, we found that the bayou, 
had risen several inches ; and as there was no other means of 
crossing, we had to wade through it. The cold, raw wind, 
as well as the coldness of the water, spoiled all the fun of the 
thing, and we marched along about as cheerfully as a poor 



TO FORT SMITH AND BACK. HI 

man goes to jail. That night, after a march of about fourteen 
miles over a very rough and rocky road, we camped in a large 
field on the Big Piney bayou. 

Next day, the 10th, starting at about seven in the morning, as 
usual, we entered Clarkesville by the covered bridge over 
Spadra Creek at about 1:15 p. m. ; halted a few minutes, and 
then turned back to camp on the bluff. There had been a 
slight skirmish near this place, between our advance-cavalry 
and a small squad of rebels, and one or two guerrillas were 
killed. All we regretted was, that any of the diabolical 
wretches were left alive. All along the road of late, we 
had seen the ruins of houses they had burned because their 
occupants were Union men, or were supposed to have a little 
money ; and there were persons with us who personally knew, 
and told us, of the guerrillas entering such and such houses, 
whose ruins we passed, and torturing the inmates by burning 
their feet over a fire to make them give up their money. At 
such times, if we could have got hold of the rebel devils, we 
would have hewn them to pieces. 

One pathetic incident occurred at Clarksville, of which Ser- 
geant Hamsick and Commissary-Sergeant Berkey were 
witnesses. An old widow living near town stood looking 
at our little column as it entered town, and suddenly her eye 
fell on the countenance of her son, whom she had not seen or 
heard of for a long time. He was a soldier in the 2d Arkansas. 
After the first surprise and excitement of the meeting, she 
told him how the infernal bushwhackers had been at her 
house, and had insulted and actually beaten her, and killed 
an aged man living near. It is to be hoped the old lady's son 
was able to save her from further troubles from them. 

At Clarksville we laid over for a day, and sent out a train 
after forage, which returned without any great supply. The 1st 



112 TO FORT SMITH AND BACK. 

Arkansas Infantrj', and the 5th U. S. Colored Infantry arrived 
from Fort Smith as additional escort for our train ; and Colonel 
Johnson, of the 1st, being the senior officer, assumed com- 
mand. Starting out again rather early next day, we made 
some fourteen miles, and a little after noon approached the 
place that had for some days been dreaded — a narrow canyon 
called Horsehead Pass, which was represented as the very nest 
and head-quarters of all the bushwhackers in the country. A 
fit place for them indeed it was. For a considerable distance 
the road wound between the almost meeting hills, whose 
rugged, precipitous and wooded sides gave every opportunity 
of concealment and safety for a lurking foe. Fifty well-armed 
men here could have terribly harassed ten thousand. After 
the pass came the narrows, Where the sides of the canyon, 
though not so high, were nearer together. As Vv'e entered the 
pass, heavy details of flankers were sent out on each side, 
relieved or reinforced at frequent intervals. Three or four 
shots were heard as we passed through the defile, but it is not 
fully certain whether they were fired by bushwhackers or by 
men of our own force who were camped in advance of us and 
had gone out foraging. It was of course well to use all possi- 
ble precaution in such a place, but the danger proved in no 
wise equal to our expectations. 

About 2 o'clock of Tuesday, the loth, we entered the town 
of Van Buren, on the Arkansas river, and marched down to 
camp a mile or two below town, on the river bank. Here wo 
laid over a day, for the train to unload, as the river was so 
high we could not well cross. Fort Smith was only five miles 
distant, and we very much wished to go there. Many did 
foot it the next day, for the sake of seeing the place and going 
" out of the United States into the Indian Territory." Thurs- 
day, the 17th, we turned our faces homeward, as going back to 



TO FORT SMITH AND BACK. 113 

Little Rock then seemed to us. Marching: fourteen miles, we 
camped that night on the ground occupied a few nights 
before. It rained hard, and was very muddy and disagreeable. 
One who had never tried it would be astonished to see how 
much shelter may be made of one common rubber blanket. 
Suspended by stakes so as to hang in the form of an obtuse- 
angled roof, about three feet from the ground, it will keep two 
soldiers passably dry through the rainiest of nights, provided 
the wind doesn't blow, and the men will lie still and close 
together. Some shelter for us on this return trip seemed 
almost necessary, for the rain came down with all persistency. 

The boys now seemed to have much better success in forag- 
ing than when we went the other way. Tobacco was the great 
staple. The supply brought with us from Little Rock, having 
been long ago exhausted, it may be imagined that " natural 
leaf" and "twist," were doublv welcome. Loads of it were 
foraged. The cavalry got the most, as usual; but before we 
reached Lewisburg, all had as much as they wanted to use. 

Colonel Bowen and Mr. Gilsoate, two old men from Hemp- 
stead County, Representatives in the State Legislature, came 
with ue to Little Rock. They were true Union men, as was 
apparent in every word and act, and had suffered much for 
their loyalty. The elder of the two, had lived in Hempstead 
County, most of his life; and it was intensely amusing to 
hear him describe and illustrate his utter ignorance of the 
machinery and improvements of modern civilization. A 
short visit to the North, a few months previous, had evidently 
convinced him, that there was no people on earth, like the 
Yankees, and that the sooner they whipped the South out, and 
re-settled the country, the better it would be for every body. 

Having now been out of the reach of news for some time, 
we naturally supposed that at least, some thing must have 



114 TO FORT SMITH AND BACK. 

happened in the world, since we started. We had no doubt 
that Lincohi was re-elected ; and many were sure there would 
be some great news from Richmond. But in this we were dis- 
appointed. Beaching Lewisburg, which was connected by 
telegraph with Little Rock, we heard of Lincoln's triumph, 
and of Sherman's starting toward Charleston ; but from Rich- 
mond came nothing remarkable. Long months after this, 
when the news did finally come, of the overthrow of the rebel 
strong-hold, it had been, as is usual with so much expected 
events in life, so heralded and introduced, that the reality, 
though vast, did not seem equal to the anticipation. 

Not far from our camp, three miles west of the Cadron, we 
noticed a tall cotton-wood stump, about two feet in diameter, 
hollow, and running down several feet straight into the 
ground, thus conclusively showing, that the ground there, for 
at least that depth, was all deposited by the action of water, 
within the last hundred years or so. The second night of the 
march out from Little Rock, we had camped in and around 
a good, old white house, at the bridge across the Palarme. 
Coming back now, only two or three weeks later, we found 
the house had been burned; so we camped in the out-buildings 
and on the vacant lots. Familiar with destruction, we had 
never yet seen so much house-burning, as had been done on ' 
the road from Little Rock to Fort Sn)ith. 

Next morning, the 27th of November, we had reveille at 
three o'clock, and by dint of much hurrying, got on the move 
again before six. There was as yet no trace of day-light, and 
so we crossed the high bridge over the Palarme, by the glowing 
light of two large fires. It was a picturesque scene. But start- 
ing before day-light, was rather overdoing the matter; and we 
had to halt and wait half an hour or so for sun-rise, and then 
went on our way rejoicing, for this was our last day's march. 



I 



TO FORT SISflTH AND BACK. 115 

!Not far from four o'clock in the afternoon, we found ourselves 
In sight of town. Our band met us at the pontoon-bridge; 
and we marched up through town with all the glory of fifes 
and drums, our ragged and dusty uniforms contrasting shabbily 
with the bright, new clothes, and paper collars of the city 
soldiers. But for some cause or other, there was the largest 
and most enthusiastic crowd gathered to see us, of all qualities 
and descriptions, military and civilians, that we had ever seen 
on the streets of Little Rock, since the city fell into our hands. 
Arrived in our old camp again, we found our comrades of 
the last recruiting-party all returned ; and the mail that had 
accumulated during our absence now cheered us all at once. 
But much inconvenience and some loss had been caused by the 
stay of the 47th Indiana for several days in our quarters while 
we were gone. The Fort Smith trip was the longest we were 
ever on. It had included about 360 miles of consecutive 
marching, but there was nothing more or worse about it 
than "mere common soldiering." All had stood it first-rate, 
and many liked it much better than remaining in camp. The 
health of the regiment was never better. But the more 
tlioughtful among us noticed, and deplored, the hardening 
influence a march invariably has upon the finer tastes and sen- 
sibilities. It seemed to deaden our better feelings. Remain- 
ing quiet in camp for some time, our aesthetic natures seemed to 
live and grow, but on the march they seemed chilled and 
stunned by hard realities. Three months of comparative rest 
would not more than remedy the hardening eflfect of a month 
of marching. 



CHAPTER XYI. 



REST A LITTLE, AND THEN OFF AGAIN. 

In camp once more, the usual routine ensued. Fatigue, 
picket, drill and parade were the standing order of the day, 
with inspection and review for variation. One evening on 
parade the solemnity of the occasion was materially inter- 
rupted by a couple of little toys who came out among the rest 
to witness the performances. Tickled most, of course, by the 
fifes and drums, they followed close behind them ; and when 
the band struck up for the march down and back in front of 
the line, close behind them tagged the little boys, their short 
legs wiggling rapidly as they tried to keep up with the music. 
Down and up the line marched the band as usual, and down 
and up the line followed the boys, to the intense amusement 
of the regiment, and the great disgust of the principal musi-. 
cian, who was rallied a good deal over his new recruits. 

December 24th, in the morning, a full and distinct rain-bow 
was visible for sf^me minutes, though the weather was very 
eold. We could explain it only by supposing the frost 
in the air had consented to act instead of rain for this particu- 
lar occasion. Major-General J. J. Reynolds was now in com- 
mand of the department, and the straightening-up he made 
there was very perceptible. He inspected our regiment on the 
20th of January, and complimented us afterward on our 

I 1 6 



REST A LITTLE, AND THEN OFF AGAIN. 117 

appearance — promising a more general inspection in quarters 
before many days; from which some inferred quite positively 
that we were still to remain in town on garrison-duty. But 
they were soon undeceived. 

On the morning of the 21st of January, unexpected orders 
came for us to be ready to march immediately, with ten days' 
rations, blankets, and general "heavy-marching order." 
Most of us believed tiiis to be the beginning of that grand 
*' onward movement" toward Texas which all expected to 
come in the Spring. Next morning we left our camp again, 
for another " la-st time! " A review of the moving force took 
place in front of the general hospital ; and at a quarter after 
eleven the march commenced. The column consisted of three 
or four regiments of infantry, with some cavalry and artillery, 
and was under the command of Brigadier-General Carr. The 
most utter and unprecedented ignorance prevailed as to our 
destination, or the probable length of our stay ; and all sorts of 
conjectures were afloat concerning both questions. 

The first day's march was but about eight miles, on the Pine 
Bluff road. Before night it commenced snowing consider- 
ably ; and the ground became decidedly too cold to sleep on, 
with comfort. It is very easy for a healthy man to warm up 
an ordinary bed, by the heat of his body, but it is compara- 
tively difficult thus to warm a whole planet. Next day, 
marching about ten miles, we camped for the night, on a 
rather good plantation, then owned by a widow lady, who 
was naturally very anxious to save her rails and chickens, and 
therefore discanted considerably upon the fact that her daugh- 
ters were at school in Indiana; that her husband had been a 
good Union man; that the rebels had been around there 
several times and hung him, to punish him for his loyalty; 
and that at last they had hung him so much that it injured his 



118 REST A LITTLE, AND THEN OFF AGAIN, 

health, and he finally died. Of course, we respected the 
chickens and rails. 

About noon of the 25th, we entered Pine Bluff, where the 
Dutch rebel Marmaduke, had been so often and signally 
repulsed, by the gallant Clayton, and where the condensed and 
substantial earth-works attested the determined character of 
the defense, as the buildings in town, showed plainly the 
fierceness of the onset. Passing through the streets with but 
little delay, we went into camp about a mile below town. 
Next day we made some twelve or fourteen miles, without 
special incident; and on Friday following, traveled sixteen 
miles, passing a good, white, frame schooi-house — an exceed- 
ingly rare thing in Arkansas. This brought us to the 
settlement called Mt. Elba, on the Saline river. 

Here, camped on an open field, w^e lay over for two days, 
while the cavalry pressed on toward Camden, ta raise an 
alarm there, and cause a concentration of the rebel forces. 
Having nothing to do meanwhile, but to lie still and wait for 
their return, we sent out a forage-train, which came back well 
loaded with provisions. This part of the country having-^ 
never before been occupied by Union troops, except in transit, 
there was the more left for us ; and we lived on the fat of the 
land. On Monday the cavalry came back, and we turned our 
faces once more toward the North. x\. long and tireso-me 
march, through rain and mud, left us for the night, on the 
place we had occupied the preceding Thursday ; and on the 
next night, after a very fatiguing tramp through the mud, 
we found ourselves a mile and a half north-west of Pine Bluff, 
on the road to Little Eoek. 

Wednesday, February 1st, was another hard day for us^ 
with only mud and rain instead of comfort. It is not easy to 
inarch under twenty pounds of knapsack, and twenty or 



EEST A LITTLE, AND THEN OFF AGAIN. 119 

twenty-five pounds of other aticoutrements, even on good 
i-oads ; and mud knee-deep has no tendency to help the mat- 
ter. But there was no enemy now to hover in our rear, and 
no prospect of starvation if we did not liurry. Lying over at 
Roclc Springs on Thursday, to wait for our train to come up, 
we started out again on Friday, and camped that night on the 
plantation of the widow Campbell, whose husband had been 
so injuriously hung. 

Saturday, the 4th, brought us again to Little Bock, though 
only for a little while. When we were yet two or three miles 
out of town, word was brought to us, that we were under 
immediate orders for New Orleans. Strange as it seemed to 
us, to be likely to get out of Arkansas, there were many who 
believed the story, and more who hoped it was true. We 
had been seeing active service lately; though this last 
trip had been but easy and ordinary soldiering. All had got 
along exceedingly well ; and the sickness among the regiment 
had been reduced to the minimum. 

There was now for us a short period of complete rest, even 
the details for fatigue- and guard-duty being remitted; and in 
consequence, the line of the regiment on parade, had a length 
which reminded us of the old Camp-Tuttle-days, before sick- 
ness and battle had so reduced our numbers. Having before 
now, repeatedly left Little Rock " for the last time," the part- 
ing had become an old story ; but this coming time was to be 
the last indeed. We had no special love for the old place, but 
having been stationed there for more than half of our term of 
service, it was but natural for us to feel connected with it 
by some ties of association. But these were soon parted, and 
Little Rock became only one more name in the album of our 
military memories. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



DOWN SOUTH. 

Our Valentine for 1865, came one day too early, in the shape 
of marching orders for New Orleans. Tuesday, February 14, 
rose gloomy enough, and it was cloudy and chilly, when not 
raining, all the rest of the day. If "signs " were to be of any 
avail, our trip was to be a sad one. At half-past six in the 
morning, we bade our final adieu to the old camp where so 
much of our soldier-life had been passed, crossed the river on 
the wooden pontoon-bridge, and piled ourselves and baggage 
on the train for Duvall's Bluff. Every moment brought 
vividly to mind the contrast between our first coming to the 
city and this last departure from it. When we first arrived at 
Little Rock, it was amid the smoke of burning buildings, cars 
and boats. The streets were deserted, the stores were empty ; 
and we looked upon the city as a temporary stopping-place 
in our march from Helena to Texas. Now it was a busy, 
bustling town, familiar to us as more than a year's residence 
could make it. Then, we marched wearily over the prairie, 
day by day, suffering from heat and thirst, and wondering if 
we should ever see happier circumstances there. Now, we 
rode lightly and cheerily along, with no fatigue and compara- 
tively little comfort, passing in a few hours what had taken us 
toilsome days before. Then, we were in but feeble hope for 

1 3 a 



DOWN SOUTH. 121 

the end of the rebellion, and looked upon it as a distant and 
intangible uncertainty. Now, we saw the end approaching, 
and felt sure that victory could not tarry long. We were bid- 
ding farewell to familiar scenes, but with hope brighter than 
ever, that before many months longer we should greet the 
still desired and more familiar scenes of home. 

Arriving at DuvalPs Bluff about noon, we waited a long 
while for "red tape" to furnish proper transportation, and while 
climbing and sliding around the muddy hills, had ample time 
to contrast the past and present appearance of the place. 
Some time in the afternoon we embarked on the steamer Par- 
agon., and started down the river. To men wlio have been 
either lying in camp, working on fatigue-duty, or tramping 
over the heaven -forsaken pine swamps of Arkansas, so long as 
we had, there is a pleasing novelty in marching on a steam- 
boat, even with all the discomforts of the manner in which 
soldiers are packed and stowed away. 

Tying up at night for safety, we went steaming on down the 
river next day; and at a little before 1 p. m. came in sight of 
the noble Mississippi again, with feelings of gladness and wel- 
come, and soon afterward rounded to and went ashore to camp 
at a little huddle of houses where a small squad of Union 
troops was stationed. The gun-boat Tyler lOiy here; and the 
sight of her brought back to memory the "bloody 4th" she 
helped us celebrate at Helena. Next morning, the 16th, the 
Paragon having gone up the river, we went on board the large 
and splendid steamer Ben Stickney, and went speeding south- 
ward, rejoicing in the increased room she gave us. 

At noon we reached Vicksburg, the historic city. Lying up 
there till night, we had time to wander around and see the 
fortifications, and note the traces of the mighty contest. And 
the more we saw, the more we wondered— not th' it took 



122 DOWN SOUTH. 

General Grant so long to take the city, but that it was ever 
taken. Leaving Vicksburg that night, we found ourselves on 
Sunday, floating down between the low, luxurious and orange- 
laden banks of the lower Mississippi; and at three o'clock in 
the afternoon of the 19th, arrived at New Orleans. Some 
members of the regiment had been there before; but to most 
of us the scenes had all the charm of novelty and of contrast 
with all we had left behind. As soon as the boat tied up for a 
few minutes to another boat lying at the levee, the fruit- 
women and juvenile vendors of all sorts of basket-fixings 
came swarming to us like the locusts of Egypt. We were all 
"nearly strapped;" but the oranges must be had, and in many 
eases the last cent went for them. The fact is, human beings 
in army-blue and under such circumstances, can't stand more 
than a certain amount of temptation. 

So soon as the necessary reports could be made to head-quar- 
ters, and the necessary orders obtained, we crossed the river 
and landed on the Algiers side. There was considerable delay 
in getting all our things off the boat ; and it was dark and 
raining when we reached the large, flat, open field, not far 
from the river, which was to be our camp for a few days. All 
sorts of rumors were current as to our further destination, but 
most of them tended to Mobile Bay. Every thing now 
seemed strange and novel. Baggage and transportation were 
cut down to limits that seemed exceedingly slim, even to us 
" old soldiers " as we almost thought ourselves. Next day, our 
extra clothing and other property was packed in boxes, and 
sent home by express, or stored in the city. 

Tuesday night, February 21st, was one of the most uncom- 
fortable times we had experienced. A heavy rain came on, 
flooding the low, flat ground to the depth of two or three 
inches, leaving us either to sleep half buried in water, or to get 



DOWN SOUTH. 123 

up and wade around till it should fall away. It was a cheer- 
less crowd, that looked like so many drowned rats in camp 
next morning. 

On Thursday, the 23d, marching down to the nearest landing 
we went on board the Izetta, an old side-wheel boat that 
looked as though she would hardly hold together to cross the 
river. She did, however, and more too ; for she carried us up 
and down, here and there, forward and backward, seeking the 
proper landing, for some thing less than half a day. Toward 
night the rain commenced; and right in the midst of it, 
between seven and eight in the evening, we took the cars on 
the Ponchartrain railroad ; and after a crowded ride of nearly 
an hour were unloaded at the wharf on the lake shore. Here 
was confusion, in almost utter darkness. Only those who 
have tried it can imagine the bustle and vexation of moving 
a regiment with all its baggage from the cars to a boat under 
such circumstances. To make it worse, there was not trans- 
portation for all of us. Three companies were put on board 
the little river-boat A. G. Brown, three more on the gulf- 
steamer Alabama; and the remaining four companies had to 
wait for another boat. 

For our first experience on salt-water, between the lake and 
Navy Cove, we had smooth weather, and met with no diffi- 
culty. Some of the weaker stomachs had to settle accounts, 
but most stood the smell of the brine without a murmur. 
Passing the little island, of blue-clayey appearance, where 
once Fort Powell stood, in the neck of the bay, we began to 
see some of the obstructions which had impeded the advance 
of the Union fleet some months before. Lines of piles as far 
as the eye could reach extended across the bay. Touching 
for a few minutes at Fort Gaines, which had so opportunely 
surrendered in the preceding Fall, and passing the historic 



124 DOWN SOUTH. 

Fort Morgan, which, terrible as we supposed it to be, looked 
like nothing more than a long, low sand-bank mounting one 
or two guns, we moved on up the bay, and entered the little 
harbor of Navy Cove, four miles above the extremity of 
Mobile Point. 

Soon after landing, the advance-companies of the regiment 
marched over to the place assigned for our camp, on the gulf 
side of the point, and prepared for a stay of several days. 
Mobile. Point is a strip of land, some four or five miles long, 
and about a quarter of a mile wide, extending from the main- 
land down between the gulf and the bay. Nearly the whole 
of it, at any rate, all the lower part, is a mere bank of sand, on 
one side washed to a series of low hillocks, by the endless surf 
of the gulf, and on the other, smoothed to a level beach, by 
the placid waters of the bay. Near Fort Morgan, at its lower 
extremity, were camped some regiments which had been there 
since the fort was captured. From the fort to the cove, 
extended a railroad, with a rolling-stock of a single locomo- 
tive, and a few platform-cars, sufficient to convey supplies 
from the landing. 

Near the cove commenced a kind of swamp in the center of 
the point. This was filled with water, grass and alligators. 

Around its edges were thickets of thorny bushes, strange 
weeds, and a kind of dwarf palmetto. A few straggling old 
houses stood near the landing, occupied by the families of 
pilots and oyster-men. North of these, and connecting with 
the bay, was a shallow pond, almost lined on the bottom 
with small mud-oysters. Beyond this, a rather heavy and 
swampy timber-land commenced, which seemed to have no 
limits but the horizon. The whole place seemed strange and 
wild, and in no wise like any country to which we had been 
accustomed. No description of it could convey a full and 



DOWN SOUTH. 125 

proper impression. Mobile Point was an episode in our mili- 
tary experience; and if at first, its novelty was pleasing to 
some, all at last agreed that it was an excellent place to get 
away from. 

It was glorious fun for us, while the novelty lasted, to go 
out and bathe in the surf of the gulf in the hot forenoons; or 
to walk at night along the beach, where every step stirred up 
showers of phosphorescent sparkles, that looked as though the 
very sand, were latent fire; or to wade for oysters in the 
shallow pond above the cove, and forget our baked heads and 
cut and bruised feet, in the tantalizing prospect of fried 
oysters for supper; or to gather a crowd on the edge of the 
little swamp, and endeavor to capture an alligator; or to 
watch the fairy-like sailing craft and war-like steamers, as 
they glided to and fro, so near us. All these were pleasant at 
fi.rst, but the novelty would not last forever. The discomforts, 
on the contrary, were present continually. There was endless 
heat above, and restless sand belov^, — sand, sand, sand in 
every thing. Mouths, noses, ears and even eyes were tilled 
with it, and victuals were all seasoned with the everlasting 
and omnipresent nuisance. To partially balance this, was the 
strange but grateful fact, that we had only to dig holes a few 
feet deep in the sand, on the gulf side, to find plenty of the 
freshest and purest water. 

On Monday afternoon, the remaining companies of the 
regiment arrived. On Wednesday, the 1st of March, Rev. P. ^ 
P. Ingalls, agent of the Iowa State Orphans' Home, addressed 
us, and organized subscriptions for the Home; and next day 
addressed us again. Our regiment contributed four thousand 
and five hundred dollars. In a day or two after our landing 
at the cove, shelter-lents were issued to us, and wore unar- 
imously considered a very disagreeable novelty. We hated to 



126 DOWN SOUTH. 

huddle ourselves into little cloth kennels, hardiy big enough 
for dogs. All despised them, and many savagely prophesied 
that before two days of marching, they would be all thrown 
away. Within a month, however, opinions changed; and the 
men who had so severely derided the dog-tents, were willing 
enough to carry them for the use they gave. Experience soon 
showed that they are decidedly better than no tent at all. 

Company-drill was commenced on the Gth of March, more 
perhaps for the sake of exercise than for any other reason. 
Oa the 8th there was a brigade-inspection and review, under 
Major-General Osterhaus, which was a very tiresome affair, in 
the hot sun and sand. Far south as we were now, and 
adva.nced as was the season there, we were by no means 
beyond the reach of cold. Thursday night, the 9th of March, 
it was so cold that it was almost impossible to sleep, and we 
actually shivered, and suffered perhaps more than ever at night 
before. Saturday, the 11th, most of the gun-boats that were 
lying at and near the cove, cleared decks for action, and 
steamed off up the bay. During the day we heard fi-om that 
direction the sound of heavy cannonading — that low, dull 
rumble of the gun-boat bolts, which afterward became so 
familiar. 

The next Tuesday was a day of rain and discomfort. The 
most we could do was to stay in our little dog-tents and exist, 
in a sort of apathetic sullenness, like so many animals. The 
Chaplain, poor fellow ! who was not so old a soldier as the rest 
of us, had pitched his dog-tent very carefully, but in a hollow 
of the sand ; and the rain made almost a floating island of his 
habitation. The poor man got an old cracker-box and put it 
in the centre of his tent, piled himself on it, on his knees, 
wrapped in his blankets, and resigned himself to fate with a 
look of stoical endurance that would have shamed a martyr. 



DOWN SOUTH. 127 

To make the situation more uncomfortable, some wretched 
jokers took turns through the day in going up to the front of 
his dog-tent, giving him one glance of mischievous commiser- 
ation, and then expressing their fellow-feeling by barking like 
dogs. Words would have been weak in comparison. 

So, all the time the weather varied ; rain and cold, sunshine 
and heat, each more intense by contrast. Perhaps we never 
had more little discomforts at one time, than crowded about 
us during our stay at Mobile Point; yet the memoiy of those 
days will always have a tinge of pleasantness, because every 
thing was so new and strange. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



TO SPANISH FORT. 

Short notice was given us of the march from Mobile Point. 
Our transportation was already cut down to the lowest notch ; 
and there were standing orders, from head -quarters of the 
military division, that all the troops should hold themselves 
in readiness to march at a* moment's notice. Having been 
assigned to the od Brigade, 3d Division, 13th Army Corps, 
our brigade-commander was Colonel Conrad Krez, of the 27th 
Wisconsin; division-commander, Brigadier-General Wm. P. 
Benton; and corps-commander, Major-General Gordon Gran- 
ger. This organization was retained until we went to Texas. 

Thursday afternoon, March IGth, the order came for us to 
move next morning, with three days' cooked rations in haver- 
sack. We had already on hand the rations that were to last 
us an additional day. Whatever may be the theoretical view 
of the case, it is practically certain that tor a man to carry, in 

- a sack slung over his shoulder, all he is to eat for four days, 
w 

and this weight in addition to his knapsack, gun and rigging, 

is no laughing matter. That night, in the very nick of time, 

the long-looked-for mail arrived, with news from home about 

a month old. Next morning at 6:30, the march commenced. 

The day proved perfectly beautiful. Moving up the beach on 

the eastern side of the point, we soon entered the wood, left 

13 8 



TO SPANISH FOET. 129 

the gulf behind, and after a march of eight or ten miles, 
pitched camp in a very good place at about 2 p. m. 

The next day's march was ten miles, tlirough pine timber, 
over alternate marsh and sand. In the morning there was a 
jolly scene, when we waded across a small and shallow arm of 
the bay. The whole division formed in columns closed in 
mass ; and at the word all proceeded to roll up their pants and 
prepare to wade. Wade it had to be, for there was no other 
way of crossing. It w^as a scene for a comic artist — those 
heavy columns of blue-coated infantry busily engaged in roll- 
ing up the legs of their pants until, like so many boys at play, 
they struck into the water, and with shouts and laughter waded 
easily across. Some where about noon, as we were marching 
through the interminable pine wood, the noise of merriment 
rose in front again. As we neared the place, the cause was 
seen. An old negro woman, apparantly half-crazed with joy 
at the sight of the Union army she and hundreds of the race, 
companions in suffering, had so long prayed for, was standing 
near the road as the column passed her, shouting, dancing, 
crying and laughing, almost hysterically, in the vain effort to 
express her overflowing feelings. "Glory, Hallelujah!" she 
shouted; "Glory Hallelujah! The Lord's done heard us! 
Glory ! There's eight hundred of us praying for you at 
Blobile! Goon! Go on! Glory, Hallelujah! " And then the 
poor creature would dance, and shout and sing, cry and laugh, 
all at once, while the tears coursed down her worn and wrin- 
kled cheeks as she beheld the army which to so great a portion 
of her race seemed the harbinger of jubilee, and almost as the 
coming of the Lord. 

It was a pathetic yet ludicrous incident; and the smile min- 
gled with the tear among us as we went marching on. It was 

no new thing to us, to be hailed by these bondmen as their 
10 



180 TO SPANISH FORT. 

deliverers; yet if we some times stopped to think of it, there 
would come a strange question, how much we really deserved 
their gratitude? But thinking is the very least of a soldier's 
business ; and so the incident and its impressions passed out ol 
mind together, as the important trivialities of the march suc- 
ceeded. Sunday night oiir camp was pitched in the. midst of 
the endless forest of tall, straight, almost branchless pines. 
The ground was flat, smooth, clean and dry; and the camp 
would have been an excellent one if only wood and water had 
been near. It may seem odd that in a pine forest should be 
no wood to burn; but such is very nearly the actual fact. 
Green pine is abominable flre-wood. Pine knots were scat- 
tered around quite plentifully, and we used them for fuel; 
but they smoke the victuals so in cooking that the soldier will 
for that purpose, take any other wood in preference. Water 
was plenty, but not near camp ; and what there was, was but a 
shallow pond where the rain-water had not yet had time to 
evaporate or become absorbed. A large camp of men and ani- 
mals will use a great deal of water, and dirly up much more. 
Men must wash their faces and hands, at least, and to get 
w^ater for coffee in the center of a little pool, all around ^yhose 
edges men are washing hands and feet, is not calculated to 
make the coffee set well on a fastidious stomach. 

The next day we lay in camp, waiting for our place in the 
train to come along, till about four in the afternoon ; and then 
marched four or five miles. Across the road in one or two 
places lay the ugly carcasses of alligators, which some of the 
advance-party had killed and left there; and it was by no 
means nice to speculate upon the probability of having such 
an ungainly " insect " some night as a bed-fellow. To explain 
how alligators came in a dry-pine wood, it should be added 
that there were occasional ponds and swamps, and these 



TO SPANISH FORT. 131 

were found near them. Being train-guard, our regiment was 
divided into two or tliree squads, and scattered among tlie 
train. As night drew on, of course the wagons stuclc in the 
swamps worse than ever. To add to the beauties of the time, a 
heavy shower came up. It was late in the night when the 
right wing of the regiment, wet to the bone, chilled and tired, 
reached the place, wdiere in the middle of a large turpentine- 
orchard, the camp had been pitched. 

The term "turpentine-orchard" may for Northern readers 
need some explanation. Such an " orchard " in full vigor is a 
dense, unbroken forest of young pine trees, each of which at a 
certain age has been tapped by a large chip off one side. The 
turpentine slowly oozes from the wound, forms a thick coating 
over the abraded surface, and settles in the hollow at its bot- 
tom. Usually the trees are carefully tended, and the turpentine 
gathered at the proper time; but in this orchard the trees had 
been neglected, till there was now a thick mass of solidified 
turpentine on every one. There was warmth for us, and nov- 
elty withal; and soon the trees were blazing "furiously. Each 
one would burn fifteen or twenty minutes before its supply of 
turpentine was exhausted. Whether the process was good for 
the tree or not, we really did not stop to inquire. 

Wednesday was spent in sending back details, taking nearly 
all the troops by turns, to build corduroys for the last few 
miles of road, along which the train had "stuck" with 
remarkable uniformity. At one time, meanwhile, by some 
accident or carelessness, the forest had been set on fire not far 
from us; and now the huge volumes of smoke rose black and 
nearer. The bright, lurid flames played round the trunks of the 
trees, wiiose stores of turpentine increased the intensity of the 
conflagration, till it seemed as if the whole camp must perish, 
miserable but insignificant, in the glowing ruin of surrounding 



132 TO SPANISH FORT. 

flames. But a certain feeling of terror was the only damage it 
caused us. Either because the fires of the preceding night had 
exhausted the combustibility of the trees near camp, or for 
some other reason, the fire did not come near enough to give. 
us much real discomfort, beyond that vague but deep and 
"realizing" sense of what would be our own littleness and 
powerlessness if He who rules the elements had not restrained 
them. 

The wagons having finally got out of the mud, we started 
on again next morning, moving nearly all the way through 
the unvarying pine wood, but noting with a real feeling of 
welcome and joy, the appearance of trees and bushes of a 
more familiar leaf and living green, as we neared Fish River, 
This deep and narrow stream we crossed at about half-past 
two p. M., of the 23d, on a wooden pontoon-bridge which had 
been laid by men sent around on boats before us. By order 
from General Benton, every band in our division struck up 
"Out of the Wilderness" as its regiment crossed the bridge. 
Moving on up to the high grounds a mile or so from the river, 
we were marched and counter-marched in various places, and 
stopped and formed in camp-arrangement here and there, to 
see how the brigade would fit the ground ; and finally settled 
down to camp. 

General A. J. Smith's command, the 16th Army Corps, had 
arrived here before us. As it was expected we would take 
some little rest before the whole column moved on farther, 
the camp was, therefore, laid out with great care and regular- 
ity, wells dug, sinks provided, and arrangements made as if 
we might remain a month. We were now part of the largest 
army with which we had ever been, and therefore felt "invin- 
cible against any force the enemy might send against us." 
Soon after we had camped, another mail was distributed, 



TO SPANISH FORT. 133 

strengthening and cheering us with the thought that we were 
"though absent, not forgotten." 

Saturday, the 25th, the column commenced moving in the 
morning; and by half-past three in the afternoon, it had 
stretched out so that we took our place in the line of march. 
We made but about six or eight miles that evening, and then 
camped so far a head of the wagons, that they did not come up 
that night. The consequence was, that many a poor officer, 
whose blankets and provisions were in the train, had to lie 
down supperless, on the bare and chilling ground, and take 
what little sleep he could, by the warmth only of the half- 
tended pine-knot fires. Sunday brought no rest. Rising 
early, we marched on as usual ; and at night camped within 
two miles of the "Spanish Fort" which was expected to 
hinder further progress. A change of employment for us, was 
now to come. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



THE SIEGE. 

Suu-rise of Monday, the 27th of March, saw us in arm&v 
and making ready to move forward. The command wa& 
finally formed in column by battalion, properly placed and 
directed, and at 9:30 the advance commenced. There were fre- 
quent stops, mysterious runnings to and fro of ofiicers and 
orderlies, changes of position by artillery and skirmishers, and 
all the usual indications of premeditated battle. At 10:20, 
occasional artillery-firing began, and at a quarter after 11 the 
first rattle of musketry was heard on our left. The siege* had 
commenced. 

Some where within a mile of the rebel fort, our regiment 
was halted, and lay till nearly dark. Meanwhile a rain came 
on. Having nothing else tado, we huddled under the trees 
for shelter, while occasionally some one would go to the front 
to see what was going on. Early in the evening we were 
moved forwaixl to our position in the main line of attack which 
was thrown almost entirely around the land-side of the rebel 
works, and rested at either extremity upon the bay. Our regi- 
ment was the extreme right of the 13th corps; and the IGtb 
corps extended its left around to join us. In the first day of 
the siege there was much reckless and unpardonable risking of 
life. Some regiments, for no possible reason but the drunken. 

13 4 



THE SIEGE. 135 

bravado of general officers, were for hours held in the most 
exposed positions, in close formation, without shelter of any 
kind. It was fortunate for the 33d that we were not so ordered. 
The field-pieces in our main line of attack kept up, an occa- 
sional firing till some time after dark, but the rebels did not 
reply very much. This seemed like weakness then ; but we 
afterward learned that they had their guns double-shotted 
with grape and canister all the time, in readiness for the charge 
they expected us to make, and from which few of us could 
have ever returned. 

Night at last brought quiet. At day-light next morning, a 
single bugle sounded reveille; and soon the "ball opened" 
again. Heavy details were kept on the skirmish-line, and 
relieved in the day-time. This was all wrong. Several men 
were wounded while being thus relieved ; and soon the details 
refused to be relieved in the day-time, preferring to remain in 
their shallow lines, and holes of partial safety, rather than 
I to risk the full exposure of their persons so near the rebel 
works, for the mere sake of coming back to camp. The time 
of relieving was therefore changed, and a company or two at a 
time sent out. The number of casualties was from this time 
much smaller. 

Corporal Haydock, of Company E, describes one or two inci- 
dents so vividly as to give a very good picture of the skirmish- 
line, which was the main scene of action during the siege. 
The following are very nearly his own words: 

"On the night of the 29th of March the enemy charged us 
and attempted to capture our advanced line. Our company 
was sent before day-light on the morning of the 29th, to relieve 
Company K on that portion of the skirmish-line directly oppo- 
site our regiment. We left camp about three o'clock in the 



136 THE SIEGE. 

morning, with a day's rations and one hundred rounds of car- 
tridges. Arriving in the vicinity of the rebel fort, we had to 
naarch very stealthily to prevent the enemy from hearing and 
slaughtering us before we reached our ditch. The road was a 
miserable one to advance over, being covered with fallen trees, 
whose tops pointed mostly outward. Every now and then a 
minnie ball would whiz through the air close to our heads, 
making us dodge, and think it was aimed for no one especially. 
Once in a while we would come to a deep and narrow pit, 
containing two or three " bummers" who had let their courage 
ooze out at their fingers-end before they reached the front 
ditch. These fellows would lie in their holes all day, and fire 
at the enemy over the heads of the men in advanced line, 
making them wonder if they were not in more danger from 
friends than foes. 

Deploying our line, we advanced with a considerable low 
whistling and other signaling, to the works which had been 
thrown up the night before by Company K, close to the 
enemy's line. I was considerably amused at the Dutch (27th 
Wisconsin) who were on our left. When I came up, I came 
on them. By that time, the enemy were firing very briskly. 
I asked one of the Dutchmen where our company was. "Get 
town here, G— tam you!" was all the response I could get. 
After blundering and stumbling around for some time, I got to 
our ditch. The Dutch were now relieved; but one of them 
was left in the ditch asleep. One of our boys shook him, and 
asked him if he did not belong to the regiment that was 
relieved. He roused himself up, and replied that he did. 
We told him to go on to camp, and he started to go ; but the 
flash from the enemy's guns, accompanied by a warning from 
some of us to "keep low," so frightened the poor boy that he 
commenced describing a circle, and performing various other 



THE SIEGE. 137 

antic feats, which reminded me very much of a pig with the 
" blind staggers." " Here, this way, this way," said some one, 
pointing with his finger. " Vieh vay, vich vay ? " replied the 
poor frightened boy, as he climbed over our works and was on 
the point of running over toward the rebel fort. Some one 
caught him by the heels and dragged him back into our ditch ; 
and after a deal of crawling and creeping, hither and thither, lie 
started off in the right direction, and we saw him no more. 

By this time it was growing light; and we found ourselves 
in front of the rebel fort, so that we could pour our fire 
directly into their embrasures. Before it grew too light, we 
busied ourselves in improving our dlich, by digging it deeper 
and throwing the dirt over in front for protection. Through 
the day we watched the enemy's embrasures so closely that 
they could not use their guns with any eifect. At one embra- 
sure they ran out a huge, grim monster of a siege-gun, but we 
kept up such a peppering that they were glad to withdraw it 
without firing. About this time the large rebel fort opened 
upon our skirmish-line. We would closely watch the huge 
pile of yellow dirt seen dimly in the distance; and presently 
we would see a dense volume of smoke rising, and "down" 
would be our warning. Down we would fal), to the bottom of 
the ditch. In a few seconds we would hear a loud explosion, 
and looking in its direction would see the smoke curling up in 
fantastic wreaths from where the shell had burst. 

AVe were directly between the rebel fort and one of our own 
batteries, which opened during the day, so that our own shots 
passed directly over our heads. One struck very near us, and 
and bounded over toward the enemy. Another exploded close 
to our ditch. By this time we began to fear our friends. In 
the afternoon, the enemy appeared very anxious to drive us 
from our advanced position, and accordingly planted a small 



138 THE SIEGE. 

mortar so as to bear on us, and fired it at regular intervals. 
Whenever we heard the report we would watch closely, and 
could see the huge, round missile slowly ascending, describing 
a curve like a large foot-ball, and then it would come to the 
ground with a terrible explosion. In the afternoon I became 
so fatigued that I went to sleep, with the shells bursting all 
around me, and the minnie balls whizzing above. I had never 
before imagined that one could sleep in such circumstances. 

The rebels were in the habit of passing before a certain 
embrasure. J. E. Young, of our company, had his rifle 
leveled at the place with his finger on the trigger, when a 
"yellow-coat" passed the opening. He pulled, and down 
went the Johnny. Another one came along and picked him 
up. That night, half of us wrapped ourselves in our gum 
blankets and lay down to sleep; but the rain pelted us so ; 
heavily we could not sleep much. At mid-night my relief 
came on. I sat down in the ditch, with my blanket wrapped 
around me, thinking how comfortable it would be to be some 
where else, when suddenly I heard a sharp, heavy rattling of 
musketry on our left, accompanied by loud cheering. At the 
same time our vedette gave the warning " The enemy is 
advancing upon'us." Three. times he gave the warning, with- 
out ever flinching or giving back, although the rebels were 
close upon him ; and then he climbed up into the ditch. 

I awakened the boys as quickly as possible ; and Sergeant 
Redpath gave the order " Fix your bayonets, men; and when 
they come up, punch them back." This order, in his cool, 
deliberate tone, served to re-assure the men ; and in less than 
a minute every man was loading and firing rapidly. " Buzz, 
buzz," went the bullets over our heads; but a perfect stream 
of fire from our ditch kept the enemy at bay. The ditch was 
too deep for some of us to fire with ease, so we climbed out 



THE SIEGE, 139 

and gave it to them. Our boys did bravely. We had no 
chance for retreat, so every man determined to measure 
bayonets if it were necessary. The enemy had determined to 
capture our sivirmish-line that night, as we had crawled too 
close for their gunners to work their guns. But our boys 
convinced them that night that Mobile was a doomed city." 

The duty of the main lines of infantry, drawn around the 
rebel works, was simply to protect themselves, and furnish 
the tremendous details. Not only the regiments themselves 
had to be protected by breast-works, but every head-quarters, 
from brigade on up, must have a heavy line of earth-works in 
front of it. The artillery-fire of the rebels was not slacked 
after the first day ; and there was great need of protection. 
Shot and shell occasionally came altogether too close to be con- 
venient. The country immediately around Spanish Fort 
seemed to have been specially formed for us to lay the siege. 
Deep gullies, separated of course by ridges or knolls of earth, 
formed a rough likeness to concentric circles which, connected 
by the heavy breast-works of logs and dirt, constructed in 
profusion in an almost incredibly short time, constituted our 
parallel lines of approach and defense. To aid the fitness of 
the place, an excellent and copious brook ran at a convenient 
distance, and good springs gushed from the little hills. Evi- 
dently nature had intended Spanish Fort to be besieged. 

There was now a certain monotony about the days. Very 
heavy details were sent out to work on the fortifications ; and 
as their work drew near a close, or became of less importance, 
they would be relieved by smaller details, or discontinued. 
One night Lieutenant-Colonel Lofland had been out with 
a detail of three hundred men; and in the morning a 
corporal came out with his squad and relieved him. Perliaps 
that is the only instance where, in due military order^ a field 



140 THE SIEGE. 

oflScer was relieved by a corporal. The companies out on the 
skirraish-llne, two at a time from each regiment, had occupa- 
tion enough, having approached so near the opposing line that 
frequent conversations took place between them and the 
rebels. A miniature commerce in coffee and tobacco was at 
least much talked of, if not carried into actual effect; for as 
there were no sutlers' shops allowed with this expedition, 
tobacco had now become almost as scarce with us, as coffee 
among the rebels. Stories were told of a lieutenant leading 
his men by mistake into the enemy's skirmish-line, and of 
his learning his error and moving back to his own proper base, 
with an ease that only the darkness of the night and the near- 
ness of the contestants to each other could account for. 

The body of the regiment, as well as of the other parts of 
the main line, had merely to construct the necessary protec- 
tions — a work which proved no trifle. The din of reveille 
dwindled down to a bugle in the early morning; and no 
sound of bugle or drum was allowed during the day; yet 
brass bands at the different general head-quarters would make 
the wood ring with their practice for hours together. We 
were now for the first time in a regular siege. There was no 
time in the day when one could feel at all certain that some 
rebel bullet or shell might not come singing or whistling along' 
especially for him ; but it must not be inferred that we consid- 
ered this uncertainty always as a very serious matter. There 
were times, indeed, when no one would travel around more 
than he had good cause for ; but much of the time there were 
men scattered along the brook, washing, or traveling between 
the line of attack, and the hospitals and trains, which kept 
themselves at a safe distance in the rear. 

Occasionally there were some narrow escapes. One of these 
was particularly noticeable. In that part of the line which i. 



THE SIEGE. 142 

Company D occupied, there was the stump of a tree, which had 
been cut down for the breast-works. One day a number of 
men were standing around it, chatting, when a shell came 
over, and cut in two a musket sticking in the ground near by, 
struck the stump, and passed on without hitting any person. 
Those who were there, said that it would seem impossible for 
any thing to hit the stump, without going through some one 
of the men, who were gathered so close around it. 

Wednesday night, the 29th, the rebels made a bold sortie, 
and penetrated almost to the main line of our works. There 
was confusion in camp for a few minutes; but the affair did 
not last long. The rebels went back more hastily than they 
came, 'and gained nothing by their daring. Reports and 
rumors were how thicker than ever. The rebels at Mobile 
were doing this, and were going to do that. They were 
going to surrender, to hold out to the last, to charge on us, and 
to retreat. In fact, there was nothing they were not going to 
do, (and we too), except what was really done. On the morn- 
ing of the 31st, the regiment to the right of us, having moved 
away, our regiment took a "side step to the right," and 
occupied their place. They had not only built a heavy breast- 
work in front of their position, but had constructed bomb- 
proofs of logs and dirt, partially dug in the ground, enough to 
shelter themselves entirely. For some cause or other, we had 
not yet made any protection for ourselves, except the earth- 
work in front, as ordered, although, nearly or quite all the 
other troops in the line, had done a great deal of such work; 
but now upon moving into bomb-proofs already made, we 
went at work and enlarged and strengthened them. The 
whole ground was dug in holes, and looked like an 
oblong of gigantic burrowers. This was by no means useless 
labor. The firing was of course irregular, and some times 



142 THE SIEGE. 

almost entirely ceased ; but there were spells, as always just 
before sun-set, when the artillery on both sides would open 
briskly, and then, when the rebel shot and shell began to 
whistle closer over us, the bomb-proofs were welcome and 
crowded ; and it was not cowardice hut common-sense, which 
demanded the protection. 

About sun-down of the 31st there was a decidedly lively 
time for a few minutes. The cannonading on both sides was 
heavier than it had been before; and jjiles of brush lying 
between the opposing lines were set on fire, either by accident 
or intentionally, and lit up the scene to almost grandeur. 
Though the siege had now lasted but four or five days, we felt 
already well used to it. The regular booming of the half-hour 
guns was an accustomed sound ; and the lively contest of artil- 
lery just before sun-down was looked for as a thing of course. 
Soldiers soon learn to adapt themselves to circumstances. The 
routine of camp was readily adjusted to the place, and fol- 
lowed with as cheerful carelessness as ever. Laughing and 
joking abounded. 

For several days there had been talk of an issue of tobacco 
by the quarter-master. It seemed almost too good to be true ; 
but on the 3d of April the tobacco came, almost as welcome as 
pay-day or a mail. On Wednesday morning, the oth of the 
mouth, the 7th Minnesota came back to their old position, and 
we had to vacate. A new place was assigned us, about a mile 
further to the left but in the same main line. It had boon 
occupied by some other regiment, and was almost honej^- 
combed with bomb-proof works, which did not seem to be 
very effective; and our first business therefore, was to enlarge 
and improve them, until at last we made them so snug, that 
many of us would have almost been willing to stay there for 
the rest of our terra of service. 



THE SIEGE. 143 

The firing- grew all the time heavier. On the evening of the 
8th, the gun-boats, which had been taking part but occasion- 
ally in the contest, began launching their tremendous bol.s in 
solid earnest. As darkness came on, the scene approached the 
sublime. The bay was entirely hidden from us by the wooded 
hills, but the shells from the gun-boats could be distinctly seen 
as with majestic slowness they described their brilliant arcs, 
and fell point-blank in the rebel fort almost at the instant of 
explosion. The gunners seemed to have got the range per- 
fectly. On land, too, the siege-guns which had been so long in 
coming up, were now in position ; and for about an hour on 
the evening of the 8th there was such a cannonading as we had 
never heard before. The whole artillery force of our army 
and gun-boats opened in one terrible storm of fire, so concen- 
trated on the rebel fort that it seemed almost impossible for it 
to endure a repetition. 

That evening we noticed a little circumstance, which seemed 
odd to us then, and which in earlier days might have hastened 
exertions on to victory, or been accepted as an omen of defeat. 
The evening was clear, and the moon shone bright in the 
southern sky. Some V\^here about 8 o'clock, we saw three very 
small halos, or circles, of various colors, like the rain-bow, 
around the moon. The eff"ect was weird and beautiful. Ordi- 
nary " rings around the moon" are common enough ; but three 
small rings, brightly and variously colored, in the midst of a 
cloudless sky, were to us as novel as they were beautiful. 
There were some who thought the sight portended some thing ; 
and perhaps it did. 

That afternoon and evening there was much heavier cannon- 
ading some distance up the bay, than we had heard before. 
General Steele with his negroes was evidently pounding away 
at Blakely ; but there seemed to be nothing new in store for us, 



1^ 



144 THE SIEGE. 

and we went to sleep as usual. About mid-night a shout arose. 
Our forces, pressing closer on the rebel lines, had found the fort 
just evacuated; and with joy and tumult they rushed in and 
took possession. The thirteen days of siege at last were ended. 
We were vexed that the rebels had succeeded in retreating ; 
but to have driven them from their strong-hold was cause 
enough for joy. Many of our regiment were so eager and 
excited, that they could not wait till morning, but tumbled 
out of bed, and went up to see the fort by moon-light. 

Sunday morning, the 9th, was rainy and disagreeable. 
Reveille was sounded on the drums for the first time since the 
commencement of the siege. Orders soon came for us to be' 
ready to move immediately ; but not all of us could restrain 
the curiosity to see what we had been so long fighting about, 
and so we had to go up and see the fort. A strange sensation 
came over us as we climbed, unhindered, over the breast- 
works and walls, from which a few hours before we would 
have been swept off with a storm of fire had we attempted to 
scale them. We were glad enough no "charge" had been 
ordered ; glad, indeed that our position had been on the out- 
side and not inside the fort, the center of such a rain o^ 
iron and lead, it showed the marks of conflict every where. 
There was hardly a square yard of ground in or near the fort 
which was not torn by shot or shell. Along the top of the 
inner wall, logs a foot or so in diameter were laid, as protec- 
tion for the heads of the sharp-shooters stationed behind 
them ; and one of these logs, on the side opposite that part of 
the line last held by our regiment, was so scarred that not a 
finger could have been laid on it without covering the mark 
of a bullet. ^ 

The fort — or rather, Battery Huger, as the name of the 
main work seemed to be— must have been a terribly hot and 



THE SIEGE. 145 

uncomfortable place during the bombardment. Looking at 
the traces of ruin and devastation around, one would hardly 
think it possible that human beings could have lived there 
and worked the guns, under such a storm of death as beat 
upon them ; and indeed we remember that during the last two 
days the rebel fire had gently slackened, and finally dwindled 
to nothing. But the fort evidently had been well sup- 
plied with arms and ammunition. Some of the cannon had 
within the month been cast at the Selma Arsenal. 
The largest gun, a splendid one-hundred-and-twenty-pound 
Brook's rifled, had been dismounted by a shot from one of our 
batteries or gun-boats. The other ordnance w^as numerous 
enough, but very various in construction and caliber, though 
none of them were heavy. 

All around the fort, at a suitable distance from the outer 
walls, the ground was planted w^ith torpedoes set in a double 
line, such as would be described by the corners of a common 
rail-fence made with rails a foot or two shorter than usual. 
The efiect of thus planting them, was that no column 
of men, even so small as four abreast, could have passed over 
the line without hitting the torpedoes. This same diabolical 
plan of defense we afterward found in use at Blakely — diabol- 
ical, because it was as likely to work destruction after the 
contest was over, as while it lasted, or even more so ; as likely 
to kill the victor as the enemy. A description of the torpedo 
may not be useless. 

A heavy shell of cast-iron, about the average size of a 

twenty-four-pound round shot, is perforated with two holes. 

One of these serves simply to admit or draw out the powder, 

and is usually secured by a screw cap. Through the other 

hole runs down a compound substance that communicates the 

fire to the powder that fills the shell. At the upper part of 
11 



146 THE SIEGE. 

the substance is a material wliich will ignite under a sudden 
pressure of about four pounds. Over this, when the torpedo 
is in the arsenal, is screwed a thick and solid safety-cap; but 
for actual use, this heavy cap is taken off, and an inner one 
exposed, consisting of copper so thin that a pressure of four 
pounds will force it down suddenly upon the explosive com- 
pound beneath. The torpedo so prepared, is set in the ground 
just enough to let the thin cap appear above the surface. Any 
ordinary foot-step will now cause the explosion, which will in 
all probability shatter to fragments every thing near it. 

The torpedo was an unaccustomed weapon of warfare to us ; 
and it was perhaps for this reason that many, if not most of us, 
feared them more than bullet or shell. Men, who would have 
hardly been careful enough of themselves against tlie missiles 
of the battle, were very dubious as to torpedoes, and would 
examine the ground minutely for the little sticks which 
served to mark the place where a torpedo was buried. At 
Spanish Fort, as afterward at Blakely, several men were 
killed by the explosion of torpedoes, after the grounds came 
into our possession. At Blakely, after the rebel works were 
captured, squads of the rebel prisoners were set at work, 
taking up the torpedoes which encircled their lines ; but it is 
probable that many of them were overlooked. Likely 
enough, the farmer who shall yet plow over the laud, where 
the outer lines of Spanish Fort and Blakely extended, may 
suddenly strike the cap of one of these terrible shells, and be 
blown to pieces. Thus the weapon the father prepared, may 
turn against the son. 

For protection from the tremendous fire of our artillery, the 
rebels in the fort had dug holes and winding ways in the 
ground, inside the works. It was said that after its evacua- 
tion, a number of sick and wounded were found in these holes, 



THE SIEGE. 147 

and that two or three days afterward, a rebel officer of rather 
high rank, was found concealed at the extremity of one of the 
covered ways. But we could not stop to explore much. 
Another regiment was detailed as guards at the fort, and we 
were of the number ordered forward. 



CHAPTER XX. 



HITHER AND THITHER. 

Breaking camp on the morning of the 9th, without a 
thought of its being Sunday, we formed line a little way- 
out in the wood, and drew rations while halting for a 
few moments. There seemed some thing almost ludicrous in 
the idea of issuing those two barrels of sour kraut, with 
the other rations, to men all in line and ready for the march, 
and whose only means of carrying food was in their haver- 
sacks ; and in fact the kraut disappeared so fast in other ways 
that it was not issued. Military discipline and routine are 
some times so absurdly impossible, that on some occasions 
harm results from the lack of a reasonable approach to them. 

The march of Sunday was of only ten miles' length, but- 
was very tiresome. On the way, the knowledge spread that 
we were being pushed forward to Blakely to take part in a 
charge on the rebel works there. Some time before we 
reached the place, however, the news met us that the charge 
had been made, and the victory won. We were badly behind- 
hand, but it was no fault of ours. The charge had been made 
before the expected time — without orders, wq were told — and 
won by the most recklessly desperate fighting. Had it not 
been for a sort of Western independence and individuality of 



HITHER AND THITHEE. H9 

action among: the troops composing General Steele's com- 
mand—negroes though many if not most of them were — we 
should have had part in this last important action of the war. 

Next day, the 11th of April, lying in camp about a mile 
from the rebel works, we had time to rest and look around. 
A heavy mail, arriving the night before, had given us the 
latest news from home, and was forthwith answered by one 
almost as heavy. Many of us spent the forenoon in looking at 
the prisoners taken, and examining the rebel works. One 
squad of prisoners, comprising part of an Alabama regiment, 
was camped near us, in charge of a detail of negroes. We 
could not but observe that these Alabamians were a very dif- 
ferent class of men from those to whom we had been accus- 
tomed in Arkansas. More nearly in uniform, with their 
strong and active physique and hearty bearing, they looked 
more like "foemen worthy of our steel." Between them and 
the negroes, however, there seemed to be some old grudge to 
settle. No display of feeling against the prisoners was allowed 
to be manifested: there was no sign of "crowing" over a 
fallen foe, no taunting or insult allowed or attempted ; but we 
could often hear expressions of the deepest hate and vindic* 
tiveness from dusky lips when away from the line of guards. 
Who shall know how many and deep tragedies lay there 
concealed; what wrongs but partially redressed; what burn- 
ing sense of injustice and shame that called so grimly for the 
captive masters' blood ! 

The rebel works at Blakely were extensive, as indeed the 
rebel works in Alabama always were— always such as would 
require a force from two to ten times as great as they could 
ever have, to properly man them. Whose the fault may have 
been, we could not tell, but its existence was always noticed. 
Little as we might understand of the theoretical art of war. 



150 HITHER AND THITHEE. 

we had for ourselves fully learned that earth-works, to be 
effectively available, must not be too extensive for the force 
likely to defend them. At Pine Bluff, Arkansas, General 
Clayton had resisted repeated attacks from a force greatly 
out-numbering his own command ; and we could plainly see 
that his success was partially due to the great concentration of 
his lines of defense. 

The town of Blakely, so far as we could discover, existed 
almost solely in name. We were told that there had once 
been a number of fine houses there, and that the town was a 
well-known watering-place for the beauty and fashion of 
Mobile. No semblance of such prestige now remained. At 
the usual landing-place on the bank of the Tensas river, a 
large crane had apparently been just scared out of the job of 
mounting a couple of heavy cannon which lay near it, just 
arrived from the Selma Arsenal. One small frame-building, 
formerly a grocery, now stood dirty and empty by the street. 
Several wall-tents, made of the coarse but strong cotton cloth 
which plainly showed its Southern manufacture, were used as 
hospitals, and filled with rebel sick and wounded. And a 
large shed, which had been used as the arsenal, was well 
stored with torpedoes, shell, shot and other weapons, with the 
remains of such quarter-master's and ordnance papers as the 
absconding officials had not taken away. Many of these 
scraps of paper, of evidently Southern manufacture, were 
gathered to be sent North ; but their interest is now only that 
which can attach to the millions of similar relics which may 
be found in the thousands of Northern homes. 

The left of the rebel line of defense rested on the deep and 
narrow Tensas river, of which this bank was a bluff some 
twenty feet in hight, and the opposite was a low, swampy 
flat; and its coutinuatiou was a series of earth -work, aggre- 



HITHER AND THITHER. 151 

gated at every salient point into batteries of varying strength 
and size, interspersed witii palisades and isolated pieces of 
artillery, and additionally strengthened by the most impreg^ 
nable abattis we had ever seen, piled high in double, triple, 
and some times quadruple rows. How men could charge 
over such lines of defense, we, ourselves not wholly ignorant 
of warfare, could not imagine ; but probably if we had been 
in the fight we should have known as well as any, and done 
our share. A negro soldier, who was in the terrible charge, 
understood the matter in its practical application. As he 
stood near the works, examining the ground over which his 
regiment had gone into the rebel lines, the lines of sharp- 
pointed brush and limbs of trees rose piled up higher than his 
head. He was a powerful fellow, of the purest African blood, 
and with all the African fire and fervor. When asked how 
on earth the men could ever have charged over that most 
formidable abattis, his eyes glistened, and his quick tongue 
found the ready though uncouth answer: "Golly, mass'rl 
Nebber knowed dat ar brush-pile was dar ! " 

Artillery, ammunitions, rations and all the material of war, 
seemed to have been abundant among the rebels ; and their 
capture in such quantities, at an early period of the war, 
would have been considered worthy of conspicuous mention. 
Now, it was over-shadowed, even among ourselves, by the 
news of the capture of Bichmond. At last, after all the ling- 
ering years of uncertainty and efibrt, Richmond was indeed 
ours! Often before, in our varied service, we had cheered over 
reports of its capture; but now, when the news was joyful, 
and almost undoubted truth, there rose not a cheer. With 
deep, but quiet thankfulness and joy, we felt that the "back- 
bone of the rebellion " was now indeed broken, and peace 
must be near. We could endure till the end should come. 



152 HITHER AND THITHER. 

There were reports many, and hopes many. Much specula- 
tion was hazarded as to the surrender of Mobile. Some man 
over in the rebel works, early in the morning, looking across 
the flats and bay, to where the city of Mobile was dimly 
visible, had discovered some thing there, which seemed to 
him to be a white flag waving. He called to some one else, 
and the look was doubled, with the same result. All day long 
there was a group collected on the spot, continuing the obser- 
vation; and all arrived at the same belief, though to all it 
seemed almost impossible, that they could see a white flag 
floating over Mobile. 

Receiving orders on Monday, to be ready to march at a 
moment's warning, we lay in camp till Tuesday evening, the 
11th; and by that time there came news that Mobile w^as 
evacuated. The report that reached us, was to the effect that 
our division-commander had received the news, and, intoxi- 
cated with joy, or some thing else, had sworn that his division 
should be the first to enter Mobile. Some thing of the kind 
seemed to be in the wind; for at about dark on Tuesday 
evening, we broke camp again, and turned to retrace our steps 
toward Spanish Fort. The night was beautifully mooii-lit; 
the report of the evacuation was more than half-credited ; and 
we started out in high spirits, singing and laughing as we 
marched along. But the tramp proved exceedingly tiresome, 
before it ended. 

Colonel Krez, of the 27th Wisconsin, then commanding our 
brigade, had managed to acquire the reputation of never 
getting on the right road. Coming up to Colonel Macke^", at 
Spanish Fort, one day, he had complained of the bad conduct 
of some of our boys. "Dey says me Chris," he urges; "dey 
calls me lose de vay. As I catch 'em, I punish 'em bad." 



HITHER AND THITHER. 153 

In our ignorazice of the occult principles of "military neces- 
sity," after the head-quarter's interpretation, we could not 
feel at all delighted, at being on different occasions put under 
the command of bloated beer-casks, whose only antecedents 
were, that they used to keep a saloon. On this mid-night 
march, when all were tired to the last extreme of unmurmur- 
ing endurance, of course the worthy brigade-commander must 
lose the road. Against the advice of his staff-officers and 
others, and in deftiult of precautious which ordinary common 
sense would have provided, he led us off on a wrong track, 
and had to waste perhaps an hour of marching, before we were 
finally set right again. The curses of the tired soldiers were 
loud antl deep. 

At about two in the morning we reached the bay at Stark's 
landing, two or three miles south of Spanish Fort. Here we 
were to take steamers to cross the bay ; but were compelled to 
lie around on the sand, as best we might, and wait for day- 
light. As early as practicable on the morning of Wednesday, 
the 12th, we embarked on the fine steamer General Banks, 
used then as the head-quarters of General Granger, whose 
corps only was moving; and so commenced the crosshig for 
the occupation of Mobile. The morning was foggy ; but soon 
the sun shone out merrily upon the rippling waters, and lit up 
a scene of military splendor such as we had never beheld. 
Transports and gun-boats, in single or double lines, with 
signal-flags rising and falling, and colors proudly flying from 
the mast-head, moved slowly but majestically across the bay. 
One or two of the gun-boats were provided with machines for 
raising the torpedoes with which it was feared the course was 
strewn ; but no trouble occurred. As wo neared the western 
shore there was a greatly-increased display of signal-flags. 
One gun-boat advanced some distance ahead of the fleet, and 



154 HITHER AND THITHER. 

threw a single shell as challenge to the shore; but no answer 
came. Again the signal-flags waved bravely. The gun-boat 
on which were the head-quarters of the fleet now moved 
nearer to the General Banks, and the portly and bedizened 
form of Admiral Thatcher appeared majestic on her deck. 
Turning dignifledly toward our boat, with a slow and rotund 
pomposity of manner that words could not convey, he called 

out " I-propose-to-shell-the-shore." "By , you'll shell a 

flag of truce if you do," profanely answered General Granger. 
The ludicrousness of the situation became apparent when on 
looking shoreward we saw that all this tremendous array of 
"fleets, armies and artillery" was thus to be brought to bear 
against a solitary negro, whose feeble hand waved a white 
kerchief tremblingly. 

It had been the intention to take our regiment to Mobile by 
boat, but upon further consideration it was not deemed wise 
to hazard so many lives against the torpedoes which were 
known to obstruct the channel. The General therefore went 
on in the boat, and we disembarked over the rotten and bro- 
ken old wharf at Codfish landing. A delay of an hour or two 
ensued, and then we fell in with the column, and marched on 
toward the city, over the " shell road" of which we had heard 
so much, and of which too much could not be said in praise. 
Hard as a rock and smooth as a floor, it wound for five miles 
along the edge of the bay, shaded by beautiful trees and 
adorned by the neat though humble residences of the Creole 
population. It was such a delightful change from the rough 
places where we had usually been, that it must ever hold a 
place among our bright memories of pleasant scenes. 

Still more and better news from the Potomac, drifted 
through the higher channels of official information, now came 
down to us. Not only was Richmond taken, but Lee's army 



HITHER AND THITHER. 155 

was captured, and Petersburg ours. We could believe it now 
— and nothing seemed too good to believe. The war must be 
now virtually ended ; and we felt sure of soon seeing homo. 
Such was our feeling as we went into camp that night, on a 
nice, green field, near a part of the main defenses of Mobile, 
designated as battery K. Among all the extensive earth- 
works with which we were now environed, this was the most 
elaborate and completely finished we had ever seen ; and citi- 
zens near there said it was the pride of the rebel engineers. 
Artillery abounded along all the works ; and had the Johnnies 
made a stand they could have given us serious trouble. If 
they had been Yankees, or at any Vate, if they had been 
Western men, they would never have bloodlessly yielded all 
those elaborate lines of defense simply because the enemy 
had captured the works across the bay. Near this part of the 
line had been a rebel camp, evidently hastily abandoned. 
Numerous relics were obtained here; and many were the 
cedar canteens which our boys afterward carried as mementoes 
of Mobile. 

Next morning there were strict orders to the efi'ect that no 
man or ofiicer should leave camp to go to town. The orders 
were much more strict than was the obedience to them. 
Men had not fought and marched and waited all those weary 
days before Mobile, to now quietly be deprived of perhaps 
their only chance to see the city. That night there were 
many men for extra duty, brought to it by unauthorized 
absence from camp when the roll was called in the morning. 
A little before noon we were called into line; and our division 
marched on through the city with colors flying, drum-corps 
doing their noisy best, and as much display as the ragged and 
dirty condition of the uniforms would allow. Every body, 
except the white folks, turned out to see us. Little delay was 



156 HITHER AND THITHER. 

allowed. The rebels had retreated up the Mobile and Ohio 
railroad; and forthwith up the railroad we started after them. 
At the little town called Whistler, some five miles out from 
Mobile, were located the manufacturing- and engine-shops of 
the road ; and word had been received that the rear-guard of 
the rebels had just been committing depredations there. 

Marching on a railroad is no pleasant way of traveling. 
It does very well for a while ; but one soon gets tired of strad- 
dling from tie to tie, especially if he wears a knapsack. 
Reaching Whistler at last, we piled all our baggage, except 
fighting-gear, on the ground, and prepared for a skirmish. 
Our regiment went forward some distance on the double- 
quick, but could not come in soon enough. Other regiments, 
reaching town in advance of us, had done the business. The 
enemy was only a squad of some two hundred rebel cavalry, 
as we afterward learned, who had remained behind the main 
body of the army for the sake of plunder. Had their number 
been known at the time, there would have seemed some thing 
ridiculous in rushing to attack them with a whole division of 
infantry ; but they made quite a resistance, as it was, and in 
the skirmish three of our force and sixteen rebels were killed. 

This was the last preparation for battle that we ever saw; 
and our part of it ended in standing near the railroad for a 
few hours, and then, toward dark, going into camp, in the 
wood, in a nice place near town. Next morning, of course, 
the camp had to be moved again ; and then we fixed ourselves 
up as if to stay for some time, which we really more than half 
expected. We could not see that there was any further fight- 
ing to be done ; and the best probabilities seemed to be, that 
we should remain there in camp, till ordered home for muster- 
out. But in military matters, as in life generally, the most 
unexpected thing, is the very one that is sure to happen. The 



1 



HITHEK AND THITHER. 157 

Ijoys were always ready enough to form acquaintances among 
the ladies of any place, where we might happen to stop; and 
at Whistler, perhaps on account of our prospective stay there, 
a peculiarly auspicious commencement for society was made. 
It seemed too bad to see all these dreams of rest and comfort 
shattered; but we must be of th')se to whom "there is no 
peace.'^ 



CHAPTER XXI. 



trp THE Toai B. 

Wednesday, April 19th, reveille came at 3 s SO iu the morn- 
ing; and in two hours we were on the march again. Though 
only seven or eight miles were accomplished that day, and 
camp was reached before two o'clock; it was a very hard 
march, on account of the intense heat, and the length of time 
we went without stopping. There should be short halts, of 
perhaps five minutes' duration, made regularly every half- 
hour, by a column of infantry, on the march ; and unless some 
such precaution is carefully observed, especially in the heat of 
a Southern climate, there will result much misery, which 
might be avoided. 

There is some thing strange and peculiar in going into camp 
in the wood at night, as we did on the 20th. When the regi- 
ment is near the rear of the column, and all the others get into 
camp and settled, before we come up, and the gloomy Southern 
forests are made all the more gloomy and picturesque, by the 
blazing camp-fires piercing the darkness, every tree and 
bush, and hollow in the ground, takes a new aspect as imagi- 
nation tries to picture the general appearance of the place. 
Here, you fancy, must be a deep ravine; and off at the left 
there mast be a river—the trees appearing to open, so that 
you want to walk down to the water's edge to see farther. So 



^ UP THE TOM E. 1.30 

one always tries to form some general idea of tlie ground ot 
camp; but when the morning comes, lo! all is changed. 
What you thought was the ravine, proves to have been but a 
couple of logs; the supposed river is only the edge of a prairie, 
or of a cleared spot in the wood; and the Avhole scenery, 
which last night you fancied must be so novel,, and pleasant, 
is now by day-light, as common and prosaic, as the increasing 
light of age shows most of our youthful illusions to be. 

"Reveille at 3 o'clock," was the order again on Friday 
morning; and hardly had the drums and fifes ceased their 
rattle and squeak, when the rain began to patter too. ( retting 
up in the morning, and making fiires, and cooking coffee and 
hard-tack, in the midst of a soaking rain, is very easy to write 
about, but not the most cheering and comfortable of realities. 
It has a tendency to make soldiers either very grum, or very 
jolly ; and generally we chose the latter, which proved to be 
the better way. 

Early in the forenoon we passed through the grounds of the 
United States Arsenal at Mt. Vernon, which was unanimously 
pronounced to be among the loveliest spots our ennuied eyes 
had seen. The place appeared now to be deserted, but not 
much injured. If we had been ordered to stop and garrison 
the arsenal, we would have obeyed with even more cheerful- 
ness than the army regulations require. But we were not the 
fortunate ones. The word soon passed round that the 29th 
Iowa was to remain, and that we were to go on a few miles 
further, and build a fort. 

How reports and conjectures start in the army, we used 
alw.^ys to wonder, and shall probably find out when it is 
discovered "who struck Billy Patterson." Frequently the 
rumors are far enough from the actual truth; but generally 
they have some little foundation, though the fact at the bottom 



160 UP THE TOM B. 

is usually so distorted by the accretion of opinions and sur- 
mises, that the man who first told the story would never 
recognize it after the fourth expedition. Some thing of the 
same kind may have been observed in civil life; but so numer- 
ous and definite and positive are the rumors of a camp, or an 
army, that it became a standing joke to tell that the command- 
ing General was coming down to our quarters, some evening to 
hear the news and learn what was going to be done. 

From the arsenal to our camp that night, the march was not 
long, but it was a hard one. The rain that had been resting 
for a while, commenced again with renewed vigor, and soon 
drenched every thing. Every gully was a creek, and every 
creek a river. The very road itself, for perhaps a mile or 
two at a time, on the more level places, was covered with 
water, through which the splashing column waded drippingly. 
At half-past 11 our camp was reached, in a pine swamp, near 
the Tombigbee river. Much difficulty was experienced by our 
accomplished brigade-commander, in finding the worst possible 
place for us, and even more than the usual marching and coun- 
ter-marching in consequence ensued; but finally the ground 
was chosen so that the whole brigade might rest in line. Mil- 
itary discipline, as interpreted by martinets, may require that 
in a mere bivouac for a night or two, not less than in regular 
Winter-quarters, the whole force must be disposed in strict 
line and order, whatever else may be the result ; but Common 
Sense, if it had ever had the pleasure of commanding a body 
of soldiers, would, on all such occasions as this, have consented 
to m^jch irregularity of line for the sake of the comfort the 
men would gain by having the best ground for camp. 

On Sunday, April 23d, the terrible news reached us of the 
assassination of the President. The blow was so sudden and 
so strange that we could hardly realize it ; but there was left no 



UP THE TOM B. 161 

room for doubt. The feeling with which the terrible event was 
met in the North will never be forgotten ; and to this feeling 
in all its force we added a certain wrath and vengefulness. 
We felt as they may feel who see their homes destroyed by 
Indians. Had we been allowed the privilege of meeting twice 
our number of rebels then, there would have been no prisoners 
taken. But we had seen our last enemy in arms; and this 
rage gradually died away, leaving only that deep grief which 
the whole loyal nation felt, and must forever feel, over the 
mighty fallen. Never was man so loved as Abraham Lincoln. 

Two days of rest gave us an opportunity of cleaning the 
mud off our clothes, and part of the rust from our guns. Tues- 
day morning, the 25th, the left wing of the regiment was sent 
up the river about ten miles, to Mcintosh's Bluff, on the gun- 
boat Octorora; and the remainder of the regiment went up on 
the Jennie Rogers in the afternoon. Mcintosh's Bluff, digni- 
fied by the title of navy-yard, contained one old dwelling- 
house, three or four new and unpainted frame buildings, a 
saw-mill and a black-smith's shop. At a little distance from 
the river there were also several log buildings, which had 
been used as quarters by the mechanic's who worked at the 
yard. The place had been one of considerable importance to 
the rebels, who had repaired and even partially manufactured 
their steamboat-navy there. Little or no injury appeared to 
have been done to the works or buildings by the retreating 
Johnnies ; and our soldiers soon set things running again. 

Moving up in the wood, half a mile or so from the 
river, our regiment proceeded to clear off a place for camp, 
with the rest of the brigade. The shanties were of course 
appropriated as officere' quarters; but the camping-ground 
was excellent ; and by the help of shades made of boughs and 
brush, we soon had things fixed quite comfortably for the 
12 



162 UP THE TOM B. 

some what lengthened stay which we expected. This part of 
the country being comparatively uninjured by the war, there 
was of course considerable forage to be obtained; and our 
boys could not justly be accused of neglecting any oppor» 
tunities, though the strictness of the orders from division 
head-quarters soon prevented any foraging to amount to 
any thing. 

When soldiers camp in the wood in Summer, and expect to 
stay some time, as we did here, it is amusing to see what 
improvements they will make. In a little while our whole 
camp-ground was nicely cleared off, streets laid out, ample 
shades put up, wells dug, and preparations made for as much 
comfort as possible. The band-quarters were even nicer than 
usual. The boys had set their dog-tents in a row, on light 
walls of boards and stakes to make them higher ; had built 
a long and heavy booth over the whole of them, dug a well 
and covered it, made themselves tables and seats in the shade, 
and even started a barber-shop, with a sign made of a piece of 
cracker-box badly lettered with shoe-blacking. The impression 
had now become pretty general that the war was over, and 
that we would probably stay here until ordered to Mobile for 
muster-out. Hoping this, and half-believing it, we felt like 
making the interim endurable as might be. But there were 
two or three companies who thought they hardly "got the 
worth of their money," when they kept details laboring 
faithfully for several days at digging a good, large well, and 
got it down some twenty or thirty feet, without finding water, 
when the order came to move. So calculations in the army, 
as elsewhere, prove very uncertain, though disappointment 
does not often have as pleasant a flavor as it did in this partic- 
ular instance. 



UP THE TOM B. 163 

The colored people seemed to have heard of the "good time 
coming;" and from all the country round they flocked to our 
lines. For the first two or three days after our arrival, flat- 
boat after flat-boat came floating down the river to us, laden 
with negro-men, women and children, pigs, chickens, bed- 
clothes, rags and tatters, dirt and all, crowded and piled in 
promiscuous confusion. These people did not have the air of 
being as badly treated at home, as those of most other places 
we had seen ; but they still had some idea of freedom and the 
Yankees, and were willing to risk themselves in trying them. 
It must be confessed that the reception they met, was not 
always such as to impress them favorably toward either 
freedom or the soldiers. Our regiment generally stood among 
the best in point of civility and kindliness to all ; but there 
were some among us, even mean enough to "take" chickens 
from these poor creatures, who had thus come among us help- 
less, and so nearly destitute. The negroes, en masse, were 
provided for, probable as well as the post quarter-master could 
do under the circumstances; but the unaccustomed rough- 
ness of military treatment, though meant in kindness, must 
have seemed to them in many cases, harder than their accus- 
tomed ill-usage at home. 

On the 28th, the news reached us of the surrender of Dick 
Taylor's army — the last organized force of rebels east of the 
Mississippi. We heard it with joy and thankfulness. The 
war was now surely over, at least on land, and east of the great 
river. But the rebel fleet which had gone up the Tombigbee, 
was still above us, and it was our business to be ready for 
their coming down. A large fort was planned, on the bank of 
the river, in such a way as to fully command its passage; and 
work on it had already been commenced. The saw-mill was 
pushed to the hardest to get the necessary lumber ready ; and 



164 UP THE TOM B. 

heavy fatigue-details were kept at work to build the fort. It 
was to be an honor to all concerned. But, things did not 
get ahead fast. The men all believed that the war was over, 
and the fort would never be of any use ; and so they would 
not work, and could not be made to work. All ways of detail- 
ing were tried, from the usual squad from each company, 
up to a whole regiment, colonel and all; but still the fort 
would not grow very much. It lacked the pressure of appar- 
ent reason. One regiment at Spanish Fort would throw up 
more dirt in a single night, than all the details did here, in all 
the time of our stay. 

So the days passed — work and rest alternating, but work 
having greatly the advantage. Saturday morning, the 6th of 
May, a boat came up the river with a load of paroled prisoners 
from Lee's army. In a little while, the news spread that the 
rebel fleet above us, was to come down soon, surrendered, 
and we were to go with it to Mobile. Great was the cheering 
and jubilation ; for going to Mobile, then seemed to us to be 
surely the first step for home. Next morning, at a quarter 
after eight, the first boat of the rebel fleet, came in sight; and 
as her side swung round so that the name "Jeff. Davis'' ^ could 
be read, she was greeted with a cheer from the crowd that 
gathered on the shore. We would indeed have been very glad 
to meet the original Jeff, under similar circumstances. 

By the next morning, the whole rebel fleet had arrived, 
with one or two excei)tions. Here now was food for curiosity. 
Here were two of the gun-boats which had thrown "railroad 
freight-trains" at us, at Spanish Fort; here was the little, 
black tow-boat-looking craft, yclept the Diamond, which had 
once been rigged out as a gun-boat, by the rebel ladies of Ala- 
bama, who had given up even their ear-rings and other jewels 
for its preparation ; and perhaps, even a greater curiosity to 



UP THE TOM B. 165 

US, was the low, rakish-built blockade-runner Heroine, with 
its peculiar wheels, and its alleged powers of running eight- 
een miles an hour. "What scenes had not these boats been 
through ! and what romance might be written of them ! They 
were ours now; and into the hands of our division, this last 
and most important naval surrender seemed now to be made. 
Some amusement, by the way, was occasioned by the finding, 
on one of the boats, of a tin sign, emblazoned in large, gilt 
letters, with the words "Taylor never surrenders." 

The rebel officers commanded much attention, from the 
portly Commodore Farrand, with the handsome woman in 
black who was currently reported to be his mistress, down to 
the youngest and smallest of the grey-backed and gold-laced 
gentry. The peaceable sight of rebel officers was not then as 
common to us as it afterward became. I^fore the boats had 
all arrived, details for work on the fort had been discontinued 
by order of the division-commander in person. Spades sud- 
denly stuck fast iu the ground, and picks were at a sudden 
discount. Fort something-or-other, which was to have been 
an honor to the gallant General, &c., &c., was mortum in 
embryo. The General said there must be wood enough cut to 
run the boats down to Mobile, and we would go as soon as 
that was done. In a little while the whole wood rang with 
the sound of axes ; and if ever four-foot- wood was cut and 
piled up faster, it must have been because there were more 
men to do it. 

At last the welcome order came for the start. Never were 
knapsacks packed more cheerfully than on this morning of the 
9th of April. We had reveille at half-past three, were ready 
to move at five, started about nine, turned back, started again, 
stacked arms and waited a long time on the bank of tlie river ; 
and at last embarked. Seven companies and head-quarters 



166 UP THE TOM B. 

of the regiment went on board the Magnolia ; and the remain- 
ing companies on another boat. At half-past twelve the 
signal-gun was fired ; the various bands of martial-music, and 
one brass band belonging to the division, sent out their most 
lively strains ; and the fleet started off in due line and order 
down the river. Good-bye, navy-yard; and ho! for Mobile. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 

The trip down the Tombigbee river seemed to us but prepar- 
atory to that long-hoped-for one which should take us up the 
Mississippi to our homes. But we soon found to our sorrow, 
that "there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and lip;" and 
many a weary day would roll around ere we could finally 
turn our faces homeward. Day-light had come, indeed, but 
the sun-rise was not yet near. We reached Mobile at 8 o'clock 
on Tuesday evening, and after a delay of two or three hours, 
marched out north of the city, to find a place for camp. This 
was by no means a cheerful time. Though the distance was 
only three miles, it seemed nearer a dozen. The dismal 
swamp over whose dreary length we had to pass, was resonant 
with the doleful croak of frogs innumerable, and every one of 
them, to our imaginative ears, seemed to call the name of our 
brigade-commander. " K-r-e-e-etz, K-e-e-e-e-e-tz" they sang, 
and a hundred or so of voices in the regiment would echo it in 
a little more intelligible English, but with even more doleful 
emphasis and drawl, as they thought of the frogs and King 
Stork in the fable. 

Camp was reached at last — a bare and comfortless place, 
on which we merely tumbled down to sleep as best we could. 
Next day our regimental-commander found an excellent place 



168 DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 

for US, near the bank of the river, and within the lines of 
some old earth- works about three miles above town. Here, 
under the shade of the noble trees, we cleared off and fixed 
up a neat, well-arranged and comfortable camp. On the 11th 
we drew eight months' pay, and settled clothing account for 
the second year. This made us rich; but our jollity had an 
off-set in the report that we were to go to Texas. Kirby 
Smith, it seemed, refused to surrender; and we M^ere to help 
convince him of the necessities of the case. This was a terri- 
ble draw-back to our comfort. What reason or justice was 
there in it? There were plenty of veteran troops in the 
army ; why could they not go, if any had to, and let us go 
home as we ought? And so the time passed, between hope 
and fear, till the worst was finally known. 

Mobile soon became a familiar place to us. Nominally, there 
were all the restrictions upon leaving camp, but practically 
few of the men stopped to ask many questions when they 
wanted to go. In a day or two, the boys had gathered so 
many skiffs and canoes from the different wharves in town, 
that there was a regular fleet of them. Regularly every 
morning, the whole collection would be manned by soldiers 
who wanted to go to town. It was but a pleasant row down 
the river; and for the return-trip the wind generally blew, 
so that a few leafy boughs, erected as sails, would quickly and 
easily waft the little fleet home. 

The city was now full of rebels, paroled from Dick Taylor's 
army, who still retained their rebel uniform and opinions, and 
made no attempt at concealing either. They would talk 
freely, and with all boldness, generally seeming willing to 
acknowledge that they were whipped for the present, but 
confident of a more successful conflict with us in the future. 
Some were anxious to go over and join Kirby Smith. A few, 



DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 169 

perhaps, were willing to accept the logic of events, and settle 
down to quiet citizenship; but certainly, the greater number 
were rebellious as ever, and wholly unsubdued in thoughts 
and feelings. 

We could not be in town all the time; and as there was 
now no duty to perform, the time hung slow and idle on our 
hands. With eight months' pay in their pockets, and nothing 
to occupy their minds, many of the boys soon got to gambling 
excessively. " Chuck-a-Iuck " banks were set up in the wood 
a few steps from camp, and surrounded all the time by crowds 
of eager players. The story was the same as in all such cases : 
the "luck" all gradually centered in a few, and these generally 
the ones who kept the banks. There were some who gained a 
considerable amount of money by their gambling, but by far 
the greater number lost the most of their wages. Starting, of 
course, among the lower and more ignorant of the soldiers, 
the excitement soon spread till it involved many who had 
usually been supposed to hold themselves far above any thing 
of the kind. Our regiment was not alone in the matter. The 
practice was universal. Every where, if there was a camp, 
there was gambling ; and every where it was characterized by 
the same features. Much of the hard-won earnings of many a 
poor soldier went away from him at the rattling of the dice, 
while his family at home, hitherto so well remembered, were 
perhaps suffering for the help it should have given them. 
But gambling seemed epidemic, and reason in abeyance. 

Of course, the mails now had even more than the usual 
interest for us; and certainly the folks at home, could not 
accuse us of neglecting them. At one time our regiment sent 
out five hundred and ninety-six letters, beside papers and 
parcels, in a mail that had been but three days in gathering. 
For some cause or other, rations were now better than usual; 



170 DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 

and they seemed more abundant, because so many of the boys 
bought their own food. Perhaps our regi/uent was peculiar in 
this respect; but most of us seemed determiuG'^ to have whole- 
some food, rather than army-rations alone, whenever we could 
get it ; and at ten cents a pound for bread, and sixty cents for 
butter, with other things in proportion, of course, the money 
flowed freely away. 

These now were days of suspense and doubt ; of good news 
one hour, contradicted by bad the next; of rumors and 
counter-rumors; of hopes and fears. As to our future, there 
seemed to be a general state of " don't know." If any of the 
oflSicers were better informed than the privates about it, they 
certainly had succeeded in acquiring unprecedented reticence. 
One day an order would come, such as to immediately start a 
report that we must soon go home; and the next, another 
order would give a sadly-contrary impression. We wished to 
shirk no duty, and never had shrunk from any thing required 
of us ; but this prospect of being ordered to Texas, was one 
that the most patient could not cheerfully contemplate. We 
felt that we ought to be at home. 

So the days wore on— days of rest, indeed, but weary with 
suspense and hope deferred. Lying dreaming, under the 
shady trees, we could look across the bay, in an afternoon, and 
see the red lines of Spanish Fort, marked distinctly in the 
sunshine; and as we remembered the long days of fatigue 
and danger there, and their relation to the present time and 
circumstances, we could not but wonder whether the next 
month, witnessing as great a change, should see us safe at 
home. Home, home! How dear the Northern Summer 
seemed to us, with its prairies that blossomed so peaceful and 
smiling; and how inexpressibly, tenderly dear those loved 
and loving hearts, that waited patiently and trustingly for 



DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 171 

our coming, and the fond eyes that would thrill us with their 
loving gaze, and the gentle fingers that would clasp our own! 
We had been absent long, in hardship and danger not less 
than others; had faithfully fulfilled our promises; and now 
we thought the end should come. 

"The Ught that shone in the soldiers' eye, 
Was a longing thought of home." 

But the monotony of waiting was broken at last, by an 
event of the most terrible destruction, sudden and fearful to 
the city, as unexpected and overwhelming battle could have 
been to soldiers. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, 
the 25th of May, the ware-house in the northern suburbs of 
Mobile, whi(!h was used as a store-house for ammunition, and 
then contained many tons of shells, torpedoes, cartridges and 
powder, exploded, with a noise such as he might hear, who 
should be shot from a one-hundred-pound cannon. We, who 
were in camp, were perfectly astonished, but could not imag- 
ine the cause of the terrible sound. In a few seconds, the vast 
and majestic column of smoke that rolled slowly, curling and 
wreathing upward, told the nature of the explosion. The 
papers of the time, described the event as well as they could; 
but no words can convey an adequate idea of the ruin and 
devastation thus in a single second wrought. Those who saw 
it will never forget, and those who did not, can never imagine 
the appearance of the city, after the catastrophe. It is not 
positively known that any of our regiment were injured by 
the explosion; but one member was never heard of after- 
ward. Whether he was blown up, or drowned, or whether he 
took the occasion to desert, was never known. 

On the 27th, the official report was received of the surrender 
of Kirby Smith. The war at last was over. Had the end 
come suddenly, our joy would have been extreme; but the 



172 DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 

steps, though so great, had been so gradual and successive that 
when the first was passed the rest seemed easy. The end was 
come ; and we thanked God. Should we not soon be at home? 
The suspense had not long to last. Mysterious are the ways 
of military government. Ignorant of their groundlessness 
and injustice some times, we obey without a murmur, orders 
which, if we had more knowledge of the circumstances, would 
be met with just and indignant disobedience. Had we known 
at the time, the whys and hows of the order which sent us to 
Texas, it is possible that some men of the regiment would 
have been so reckless in their anger, that the General who gave 
the order, might in five minutes have repented of it to the 
end of his life. 

For a number of days we were under orders to be ready to 
suarch at an hour's notice ; and on the morning of the 31st the 
notice came. At two in the afternoon, we were on the move. 
Knowing it must be a sea-voyage which should take us to 
Texas, the boys had provided themselves with sacks and 
boxes of extra provisions, which, had the trip been a march, 
could not have been carried half a day. But ships will carry a 
great deal ; and the only limit to each man's baggage seemed 
to be his ability to take care of it. Marching slowly and 
laboriously down to the city, we rested on a wharf till some 
time in the night; and then embarked on transports, which 
took us out to the good ship Continental, on which, with a part 
of another regiment, we stood out to sea. The smell of salt 
water was no more new to us ; but it takes more navigation 
than we ever tried, to keep a landsman's stomach steady when 
the ship falls away from under him continually. Sea-sickness 
is nothing new, and needs no description here. Happy are 
they who have never known it ! 



DELAY AND DISAPPOINTMENT. 173 

With pleasant weather, a comparatively smooth sea, and no 
remarkable event on the way, except that no lives were lost 
from thus crowding human beings in a ship, like hogs in a 
slaughter-pen. The voyage passed quite monotonously; and 
the 6th of June found us off Brazos Island. Months before, we 
had heard of this place as one of the worst where soldiers were 
ever stationed. It was said that they could not even have 
water to drink, except what was distilled from the sea. We 
had congratulated ourselves then, that duty had not called us 
there ; yet here it was now before us, and we felt some what as 
the wicked may feel, who at the end of life have full belief in 
purgatory. 

The channel at Brazos is so shallow that no ships drawing 
more than nine feet of water can safely pass. The troops were 
conveyed to the shore by a small steamboat used as lighter, 
which had to make several trips over the tossing waves to get 
a single ship unloaded. On one of these trips, those who were 
on board had perhaps a narrower escape from death than they 
had ever known in battle. The waves ran high ; and the frail 
craft struck bottom several times so violently that the crew, 
and others who knew the danger, began to think their time 
had come. But here especially ignorance was bliss. Most of 
the men on board knew little of the danger until it was past. 
Nothing serious actually happened; and after a few more 
thumps the little steamer passed the bar, and soon reached the 
landing in safety. We were glad enough to set foot on land 
again, bare sand though it was ; but even the land seemed roll- 
ing and tumbling occasionally, as bad as the unstable billows ; 
and it was some time before this feeling wore away. The 
dangers of the deep were over for the present, but comfort was 
no nearer. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE HOUR IS ALWAYS DABKEST THAT IS JUST BEFORE DAY. 

The island which bears the euphoneous Spanish name of 
Brazos de Santiago, is a low, flat, sandy place, but a few feet 
out of water; and among its greatest faults is the fact that it 
is out of water at all. General Taylor's army had gathered 
here, before the invasion of Mexico ; and from the observatory 
on the flag-staflf in front of head-quarters, could be seen with a 
glass his old battle-fields of Point Isabel and Palo Alto, while 
Resaca de la Palma was almost in sight. There were men in 
our regiment who had been here in his army ; but the 
memory of those days was very little help to them now. 
However, if his army could stand it, we could. 

We were here now as part of General Steele's army of occu- 
pation, which, hastily thrown together, had not yet been duly 
sub-divided and organized. Our brigade-organization had 
been partially retained, but beyond that there was little 
definiteness. Orders for a small detail for fatigue-duty would 
come some times to the regiment direct from head-quarters of 
the army. Except the necessary fatigue and guarding of 
camp, there was no duty to be done ; and to merely exist 
between the blazing sun and an oven of hot sand, with no 
protection from the one, but the little dog-tents, and no screen 
from the other, but such bits of boards and wooden boxes as 

1 7 4 



DAEKNESS TO LIGHT. 175 

could be gathered and saved among so many men, was the 
round of the monotonous days. A salt-water bath occasion- 
ally lent variety ; but there were sharks in those w^aters, and 
it was unsafe to venture far from shore. 

On the eastern side of the island, where we were now 
camped, there had for some time been a small military sta- 
tion. A regiment of negroes was now on duty as garrison ; 
and their daily guard-mounting and parade were objects of 
much attraction to us, their proficiency in drill being the 
greatest we had ever seen. The whole regiment would go 
through the bayonet-exercise with more uniform accuracy 
than any single company of white troops in our knowledge. 
Whatever else may be affirmed of the negroes, it need not to 
us be denied that they made excellent soldiers. As guards, 
where white people also are concerned, they are not the most 
agreeable, on account of too literal and unreasoning obedience 
to orders. 

Near the landing, a number of small frame buildings had 
been erected by the Government, and were used as head-quar- 
ters, ware-houses, offices, hospital, &c. The condensing appa- 
ratus, by which all the fresh water used there was distilled 
from the sea, consisted of four steam engines, located in a buil- 
ding near the water's edge, and having suitable tanks to hold 
the nauseous fluid as it was manufactured. As the vile but 
precious stuff was issued only in scanty rations, there must of 
course be a constant guard over the tanks lest it should be 
stolen. The negroes were kept on this duty ; and their unreas- 
oning fidelity to the literal words of their orders, with their 
inability to read any writing presented to them, were the cause 
of much inconvenience, and came near resulting in some indi- 
vidual collisions. 



176 DABKNESS TO LIGHT. 

The ration of water issued to the troops was at first a gallon 
daily to each mail — the whole allowance, for all purposes. 
The amount proved too great for the capacity of the condensers ; 
and on the 11th, the allowance was cut down to a half-gallon 
per day to each. It may be supposed that this was scanty 
enough ; but this was but a part of the discomfort. The water 
had to be drawn daily, like other rations ; and there was almost 
nothing to keep it in. Canteens, kettles, and every thing else 
were put to more use than ever before. Hastily thrown 
together, in a strange country, and under strange circumstances, 
the army had but few conveniences ; and the belief, which had 
gained ground, that we would not be retained much longer in 
t)ie service, had bred a slackness in feeling and discipline that 
would have greatly impaired the efficiency of any detail, and 
which by no means added to the comfort of the regiment, It 
was probably the fault of circumstances rather than of persons. 

The scarcity of water was now such as could not long be 
endured. On the 14th our regiment, with nearly all the others, 
was ordered to Clarksville, opposite Bagdad, in Mexico, near 
the mouth of the Rio Grande, and some nine miles west of 
Brazos. Here, was plenty of fresh water, such as it was. The 
Bio Grande is a very swift and muddy stream ; and its water 
now looked like very strong coffee into which some generous 
woman had put the milk and sugar — but it didn't taste that 
way, to any remarkable extent. If an ordinary bucket was 
filled with it and left to stand over night, in the morning the 
water would be found clear and beautiful, with a sediment of 
mud two inches deep at the bottom. So purified, it was excel- 
lent to drink ; and even fresh from the river it was better than 
the distilled water at Brazos, which always had a sickish taste, 
and was peculiarly calculated to upset the epigastric gravity. 



DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 177 

Bagdad would doubtless have been a beautiful city if the site 
were better, and there had been plenty of nice buildings there. 
As it is, however, it is a wretched and dirty place; but those 
who have worn shoulder-straps long enough to know, assert 
that its like is not to be found, as a place wherein to get some 
thing good to drink. At first, wonderful bargains were to be 
had there in goods. Our boys would go over, either with or 
without a pass, some times by swimming the river, change a 
few greenbacks for gold with some broker on the street, and 
buy clothing for the happy days when every man should be a 
citizen. There were probably few among us who did not thus 
obtain some memento of Bagdad, and win at the same time 
the distinction of having been to Mexico. 

Between living on a red-hot sand-bar at Brazos, and the 
same thing at Clarksville — as the place was called, where once 
a few houses may have stood — the difference, except as to the 
water, was mostly in name. Existence became more like 
that of the animals than ever before ; for in other places we 
generally either had some thing to do, or could do some thing. 
But here, what could be done? The heat was excessive, 
though there was always a strong breeze. For fuel, the 
dependence was on the drift-wood which had floated down the 
river, and been washed on shore by the waves of the gulf. For 
a day or two, while the novelty lasted, there was much 
interest in the view of the French fleet and other vessels, 
lying off the mouth of the river ; in aquatic exercises in the 
surf; and in the strange appearance, desolate as it was, of the 
country generally; but this did not last long. A soldier of 
three years' experience, can exhaust the novelty of a place In 
a very little while. 

Clear down there, almost out of the world, as it seemed to 

us — and certainly out of the best part of it -we felt as if cut 
13 



178 DABKNESS TO LIGHT. 

off from civilization. A good, heavy mail from home would 
have beea more than ever welcome — and at last it came. 
General Weitzel and his corps of Africanos arrived the same 
day, but that did not seem an event of half so much impor- 
tance. Yet it was to us the dusky herald of the morning. 
On the afternoon of Saturday, the 24th of June, unexpected as 
an angel's visit, and more like that than any thing else, we as 
soldiers had ever known, came the order that the 3od Iowa 
Infantry was to be as soon as possible, mustered out of the 
service. If bad news flies like the wind, good news some 
times seems to spread instantaneously. When the order was 
known in camp, there was such joy as only they can guess, 
who have had a similar experience, and it expressed itself in 
tumultuous cheers and jubilation. 

Tuesday morning, the 27th, we marched down to the land- 
ing at the eastern side of the island, to be ready to embark for 
Galveston. The day was excessively hot ; and this last march 
of ours was one of the ' hardest we ever had. Many were 
compelled to lag behind, unable to move so fast over the 
scorching and yielding sand. But if guns and knapsacks and 
cartridge-boxes moved heavily, hearts were lighter than ever ; 
for we were going home ! But the winds and the sea were 
against us. A heavy surf had been for some days rolling. 
The steamer Louise, which had been running as a lighter, had 
gone out just before we reached the landing; and we were 
therefore compelled to wait, though every minute of delay 
was hard to bear. Next day at eleven we went on board the 
Louise and started ; but the sea was too rough, and we had to 
turn back again. Thursday was no better. Would we never 
get started ? The order would be countermanded before we 
could get beyond its reach. 



DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 179 

On Friday there was some hope; but in the afternoon a 
regular ''Northeaster" wind and storm arose, which tore up 
the waves tumultuously, and seemed scarcely likely to leave 
the land. Lumber-piles tumbled, tents turned summersaults, 
and valuable papers from the Quarter-master's office were scat- 
tered like forest leaves. It was well for us we were not on the 
gulf. The sand-bank of Brazos was bad enough, but any 
thing immovable was better than that world of treacherous, 
tossing waves in such a storm. That night there was a heavy 
rain. The flat sand of the island was all the time soaked so 
full of water, that the rain fell almost as on a floor. In the 
morning, the whole eastern end of Brazos was very nearly 
an unbroken sheet of water. Thank Providence ! it was our 
last night on the island. 

At a quarter after eleven a. m., of Saturday, July 1st, wo 
again went on board the Louise, and started, this time for 
good. "The breaking waves dashed high," but we passed 
safely through the channel. The boat could not come any 
where near the ship Warrior, on which we were to embark, so 
a couple of Mexican schooners were used as lighters ; and at 
last, after much difficulty and some danger, we found our- 
selves and our baggage safely on board the ship, and under 
way for Galveston. Farewell forever, Brazos de Santiago; 
and may our worst enemy never see tliee ! 

The Warrior was a good, strong ship, sure though slow. 
We had plenty of room, and nothing to do but hope. Noth- 
ing remarkable haf)pencd. A sea-voyage at best is monoto- 
nous: what must it be, then, to a regiment of soldiers^ 
without reading matter, and without any accommodations 
but those their own ingenuity devised? The sea was not very 
rough ; but the ship rolled considerably. The Chaplain's ftico 



180 DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 

became as that of a man who has lost all that makes life desir- 
able; and he was not alone in his misery. There were more 
pale and sorrowful countenances among us than there would 
have been on land if we had been going to our own funerals. 
At about 8 p. M., of Monday, we entered the port of Galves- 
ton, and reported for further orders. Compelled to wait for 
the tide till next morning, we made the best of the opportu- 
nities the town afforded, among which were the most 
excellent water-melons our eyes had ever seen. 

The morning of the 4th was clear and beautiful. We were 
awakened by the lively music of a brass band in town, accom- 
panied by a salute from a battery of field artillery. The 4th of 
July was being celebrated, even here in Texas, though probably 
none of the citizens showed any sign of participation. What 
must have been their feelings, as they reflected that now, for 
the first time in four years, the cannon roared in honor of the 
day, in every State and Territory of the Union! Our ship 
moved out at about five in the morning ; and as we passed the 
U. S. fleet, which guarded the entrance to the bay, the gun- 
boats and some of the ships, were gaily decorated with flags, 
looking jubilant and patriotic, as a delegation of uniformed 
girls, at a Sunday School celebration. As for us, we sped on 
homeward, and thought of the "4ths" we had seen, and of 
those yet to come. 

At half past-five of Wednesday afternoon, we entered the 
South-west Pass of the Mississippi, and thankfully saw our last 
of salt water. It was joy indeed to see again the noble river ; 
and our eyes rested with delight upon the greenness of the 
grass and weeds that fringed its banks. It was now a month 
since we had seen any vegetation, except the little at Galves- 
ton. But there is no rose without its thorn. With the fresh 
water came the mosquitos, sw^arms and myriads, murdering 



DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 181 

peace and sleep. At eleven we reached quarantine, and were 
compelled to lie over till next morning, though the delay was 
miserably irksome. 

Thursday forenoon, among the new and welcome scenery of 
the ever- varying banks of the river, was a school-house — a 
regular school-house — strange sight to us in those days! A 
white lady officiated as teacher, and a whole tribe of little 
darkey children were the scholars, the entire crowd of whom 
rushed out of doors as we passed, and cheered and shouted 
welcome. This was the first greeting on our homeward way: 
and the incident gave cause for thought. Passing the wreck of 
the rebel gun-boat Webb, which had so boldly, recklessly run 
past our fleets and batteries on the way down from Red river, 
we came on, slowly but surely, toward the goal of our imme- 
diate hopes ; and at half-past twelve we entered New Orleans. 
The city seemed familiar, though our acquaintance with it was 
so little. We looked across at our former camping-ground at 
Algiers, but we cared little for it now ; our thoughts were of 
home. 

By Friday noon a place was found for us to land ; but before 
we could get to shore the ship had to wander up and down 
along the levee, very much as the old Izeita did when we were 
there before. Disembarking at last, we wore marched to the 
old "Alabama Cotton-press," on Tchoupitoulas street, at the 
corner of Bobin — one of a number of large, deserted ware- 
houses in that vicinity. Here was abundance of room for our 
regiment, with such accommodations as would have seemed 
exceedingly comfortable in the earlier part of our soldiering. 

Now came days of unavoidable delay, while the papem 
were being made out for our discharge. Soon there Wii3 a 
scene of more literary activity, than our regiment had ever 
known. All the tables on the premises were appropriated. 



182 DARKNESS TO LIGHT. 

and new ones improvised ; and pens and ink were in unprece- 
dented demand. All the best penmen in the ranks had to 
suffer for their skill, by detail to help make out the muster- 
rolls. In justice to the officers, it must be said that they 
seemed anxious as any, to hasten the day of discharge. 
"Many hands make light work;" and so the multitudinous 
rolls which red-tape requires, before it will say to the waiting 
soldier " Depart in peace, "were prepared with cheerfulness 
and speed. 

But there was sadness among the recruits, whose term of 
service would not expire soon enough to let them out with the 
rest. They had the express understanding, when they 
enlisted, that they were to be mustered out with the regi- 
ment; and there was much feeling among them, when the 
order came now for their transfer to the 31th Iowa. One or 
two desertions took place among them. The recruits left us 
on the 13th of July. How much justice there was in their 
feelings against the officers who recruited them, will not be 
investigated here. They did not lose as much by the transfer, 
as was expected, for the 31th was before a great while, mus- 
tered out. 

As the time drew near for our starting North, our interest 
in the dry-goods market increased. Citizens' clothing came 
greatly in fashion; and there were few who did not lay in at 
least a partial supply. The benefit of new clothes were never 
more observable. Private soldiers Tom, Dick and Harry, 
laid aside their ragged uniform, and became Messrs. Thomas, 
Eichard and Henry. And so the change from soldiering to 
citizenship came gradually. At last the probation ended ; the 
last paper was finished, the arms turned over, the formalities 
concluded. The discharges which had been all made out, were 
sent to the mustering-ofiicer, who signed them and returned 



DARKNESS TO LIGHT, 183 

them, when they were packed with other regimental-docu- 
ments in a box, and placed in charge of Major Boydston, till 
we should arrive at the place of final discharge. A little 
before noon of Tuesday, July 15th, we left the old press, and 
marched joyfully down to the levee. Of course, the worst 
and slowest boat in the city, had been provided for us, and 
on the old and rickety ^^ Sunny South''^ we embarked, at half- 
past two in the afternoon. New Orleans was left behind ; and 
we joyfully realized that now indeed, we were homeward 
bound. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



HOME AGAIN. 

The steamer Sunny South on whicli we were to ascend the 
Mississippi, was but a little craft ; but we who were mustered 
out were not a whole regiment. Even if the crowding- and 
discomfort had been manifold worse we should have felt 
cheerful and jolly ; for the end was nigh. Every boat on the 
river passed us, and vexed us with every new comparison of 
delay; but still we bore along. At a quarter after nine next 
morning we reached Baton Rouge, touched at Port Hudson at 
1:15, rounded to at Morganza Bend at five p. m., and reaci^ed 
Natchez at seven in the evening. Here the old scow had to 
stop and repair her boilers. Friday, we still lived ; and at 
5:15 in the afternoon the Sunni/ South tied up at Vicksburg. 
She was now pronounced unsafe; and we were therefore 
transferred to another boat — the W. H. Osiorne — which, 
though not the fastest craft in the world, was roomy, clean 
and comfortable. 

If one would form an idea of the greatness of this country, 
let him take such a trip as ours, from Brazos to Davenport. 
Accustomed all our lives to think of New Orleans as down 
South away toward the tropics, we had found ourselves going 
some three hundred miles northward to that city, and then 
commencing a steamboat ride of eighteen hundred miles on a 

1 S 4 



HOME AGAIN. 185 

single ri\er to our northern homes. On Sunday evening, 
before sun-down we reached the mouth of the Yazoo Pass, 
Every eye was turned with memory's deepest interest to this 
scene of the beginning of our first expedition. But its 
appearance was changed since then ; and what was deep water 
when we passed through the channel, was now dry land. It 
was dark when we touched at Helena, but the outlines of the 
place, though changed, were still familiar. How the tide of 
memories rolled over us, as now, homeward bound, our term 
of service out at last, safe and whole and hopeful, we looked 
back upon the time when these hills and hollows of Helena 
were a present reality to us, and all the joy we now felt was 
then but a dream of the uncertain future ! 

It was but a little thing, yet it seemed a curious coincidence 
that among the passengers with us on the boat, was a man? 
who had been a rebel Colonel at Fort Pemberton, on the 
Yazoo, when our forces attacked that position. He was ([uite 
talkative and companionable; and conversation with him 
gave an inside view of the conflict there, to balance the oui - 
side one of our own experience. Would all the rebel South 
^ove courteous as he, that vanquished and victors should ever 
together talk over their battles, and thus in admiration of 
each other's courage lose the bitterness of the feeling which 
nerved them to the fight ? Would it might be so ! 

One phenomenon which we noticed, seemed strange to us : 
On the morning of Tuesday, the 25th, the river where we 
were appeared to be rather low; and the boat took occasional 
soundings. By night, however, we found the river high, and 
frequently out of its banks. This may be nothing remarka- 
ble to men of more experience on the Mississippi, Init to us 
it seemed strange. At a little after six p. m., of Tuesday, 
we reached Columbus, Kentucky, where our first real 



1.86 HOME AGAIN. 

soldiering occurred; and at half-past nine, the lights of 
Cairo were before us. It had been our confident expectation, 
to leave the river here, and take the cars for Davenport ; but 
there was no transportation ready for us, and so we were 
doomed to boat it the rest of the way. When this was known, 
there was cursing and gnashing of teeth. Many, who could 
not endure the prolonged suspense of the steam-boat passage, 
got off at Cairo, and jjrocured their own transportation by rail- 
road. As every day's travel brought us nearer home, the 
days and miles seemed to lengthen almost intolerably; and 
every minute's delay was noticed and irksome. 

After reaching Cairo, we felt as though we were on free soil 
again, for the first time in almost three years. Yet there was 
little more appearance of welcome, than had greeted us 
hundreds of miles farther South ; for all the way was much 
the same in this respect. As the boat passed houses along 
the banks, doors flew open, windows sprang up, kerchiefs 
fluttered, and the voices of children rang out the shout of 
greeting. At one place there was an esj)ecial expression of 
enthusiasm : A little crowd of women and children was gath- 
ered in front of a house as we passed, and their joy showed 
itself even more exuberantly than usual. They waived their 
bonnets, kerchiefs, aprons, or whatever else they happened to 
have in hand, and one woman, unable to get hold of any 
thing else in the excitement of the moment, enthusiastically 
waived her baby. The novel greeting was acknowledged by 
a shout and much good-humored laughter. 

At 8 o'clock of Thursday morning, we reached St. Louis ; 
and now came a "realizing sense" that we were indeed, going 
home. Our regiment was transferred to the steamer Musca- 
tine; and at 4:30 in the afternoon, we were again on the move. 
The river was much obstructed by drift-wood, and the boat 



HOME AGAIN. I87 

very heavily loaded. Vexed as we had been by delays and 
slowness, every slackening of speed was noticed. "Making 
eight hours a mile," the boys would cry. "Who kicked the 
boat?" the boys would halloo, when the speed was suddenly 
accelerated a little. Little Sergeant Crow, would stand on the 
bow of the boat, and make piteous appeals to the engineer not 
to run so fast and take away his breath. 

The repeated soundings vexed the boys. "N-o bot-tom" 
had been heard so often, in all the drawling and unearthly 
tones that could be imagined, that we were sick of it. " N-o-o 
bottom — quarter past twain — no bottom, scant,^^ and so on, 
with all possible varieties, the lead- man's calls were echoed. 
Kiver captains are always careful to keep their boats trim as 
possible, by having the weight evenly adjusted, so that the 
boat will set right on the water. Soldiers are always crowd- 
ing to one side or the other; and thus the officers of the boats 
are always in trouble — some times, we thought, too much so. 
"Oh! Captain," some one called out to the short but portly 

Captain L , who was standing on the bow, very near the 

center of the boat, and looking to one side, "Oh! Captain, 
turn round; they want to trim the boat," and some of the 
boys asserted that the fat engineer kept walking from side to 
side, to preserve the balance. 

At a little after 9 o'clock on the morning of Saturday, the 
29th of July, our hearts thrilled within us, at the first sight of 
Iowa. Always proud as we were of the State, it had never 
seemed so dear to us as now. Here were our loved ones, 
waiting to welcome us. Hail, Iowa! ever in the van of Free- 
dom, proud among the proudest, young, beautiful and strong ! 
Three years out of our lives, we had given to the country's 
cause; here now was home again, with its peace and rest. 
Hail Iowa! As we rounded to at Keokuk, a brass band on a 



188 HOME AGAIN. 

steamer lying at the levee, struck up its liveliest notes, a lot of 
ladies standing near, waved their kerchiefs, and smiled and 
looked eloquent welcome, and every body seemed as glad to 
see us as though we had all been born and raised in the place. 
Col. Mackey called for "Three cheers for old Iowa," and they 
rang out loud and hearty, from every blue-coated and true- 
hearted man of us — three cheers, and with a will. So our 
first greeting in the State, though unheralded and accidental, 
was hearty and sincere, as the patriotism of the city, that in 
the beginning of the war, had at a moment's notice, repeatedly 
improvised and sent out company after company to aid the 
"Union cause, when the rebels grew troublesome in North-East 
Missouri. 

A number of the boys went on shore at Keokuk, and stayed 
so long that the boat went off and left them. In some cases, 
this would be a very uncomfortable circumstance to the parties 
concerned; but it proved of very little consequence to them, 
for they merely walked up the railroad track, along the river 
twelve miles, to Montrose, waited there till the boat came up, 
and then came on it again. Reaching Muscatine next day, we 
thought the place seemed remarkably still and lifeless. The 
stores were closed, and the streets deserted. What could bo 
the matter? We could hardly buy even a few apples. It 
seemed very odd to us; and it was some time before we hap- 
pened to remember that the day was Sunday, and we were 
now in the North. Down where we had been, Sunday was 
just like any other day, "only a little more so;" and the 
difference now was very plainly noticed. 

At noon that day we reached Davenport. Here our coming 
was known. There was quite a little crowd of ladies and gen- 
tlemen gathered on the levee ; but the only word or sign of 
welcome that greeted us as we touched the landing was the 



HOME AGAIX. 189 

voice of an officer on shore shouting to our Colonel, "Don't 
let a man get off! Don't let a man get off! " If this had been 
the spirit of the State, we would have turned our backs on 
Iowa; and we could not but contrast this greeting with 
that of Keokuk, and remember that even the negro chil- 
dren in the South, had many times been more glad to see us 
than our own fellow-citizens here in a city whicli expected to 
receive all the benefits that could accrue to the place of our 
muster-out. There was not one of us but remembered it, and 
will remember it when more important matters are forgotten. 

Crossing the river immediately, we landed on the island, 
and marched up to the camp formerly occupied by rebel prison- 
ers. Here, among the numerous buildings on the north side 
of the yard, we found comfortable quarters, and taking posses- 
sion of them, set ourselves to endure the waiting for the pay- 
master and our discharges. The grounds were beautiful for a 
camp ; and we could have been well content to remain there 
several months, had the time been taken from the other end of 
our term of sers'ice. As it was, the delay was most irksome 
and intolerable. It was mere waiting, without occupation, 
and with one great, absorbing thought and feeling, too promi- 
nent to admit any thing else. Discipline was at an end. 
Even the rations were drawn by voluntary fatigue-parties. 
Had there been an attempt made to draw a detail from the 
regiment for any duty, it would have been difficult to gather 
rt dozen men. Fortunately there were no orders given, and 
scarcely any appearance of authority was continued. The esprit 
de. corps was gone, and every one seemed absorbed in his own 
individual going home. 

Previous regiments, upon discharge at Davenport, had made 
great disturbance, and "played smash" generally; and it was 
the fear of this from us that sent us over to the Island. But 



190 HOME AGAIN. 

our men roamed free and undisturbed, and no complaint what- 
ever was brought against them. Respecting themselves and 
others, they behaved like gentlemen, and were complimented 
therefor in Davenport as well as elsewhere. 

If one should have asked us, during the first two or three 
days of our stay on the Island, what we noticed most in Iowa, 
the answer most probably would have been different from 
what he might have expected ; for we should have answered, 
without hesitation, that it was the good looks of the ladies. It 
is but reasonable to suppose that perhaps we were some what 
prejudiced in their favor; and something is doubtless due to 
the fact that they did not meet us on the streets with averted 
eyes, and rebel thoughts and feelings manifest in every feature, 
as did those to whom we had become most accustomed ; but it 
can not be denied that with at least equal ease and grace of 
manner, the Northern ladies, in all that the appearance of 
youth and health, rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes, elastic tread, 
and cheerful, buoyant intelligence of expression can add to 
female beauty and attractiveness, have greatly the advantage 
of the sallow, listless and puny-looking ladies who had been 
visible to us in the Southern cities ; and we could not but 
frequently notice the difference with admiration. All the 
ladies we saw now seemed good-looking, and most of them 
decided beauties. 

Seven days we were kept waiting at Davenport for our pay 
and discharges— seven long, weary days, all the longer and 
more weary for our being so near home. Had we been a 
thousand miles away, we could have endured the waiting 
better ; but to be so near home, and hindered so outrageously, 
as many if not most of us believed, by mere collusion among 
oflacials and interested parties, was almost torture. Very 



HOME AGAIN. 191 

likely the officers in charge of the matter may have done the 
fjest they could ; but there were few of us who thought ho. 

At last the eventful day came. At 9 o'clock on the morning 
of Tuesday, the 8th of August, the long expected pay-master 
came over from town ; and our heart thrilled with the feeling 
that now in a few minutes we should be citizens again, free, 
and equal. Colonel Mackey called the regiment together en 
masse, without any attempt at military order, and addressed 
to them the following brief farewell : 

"Officers and Soldiers: The time has arrived for the 
33d regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry to disband. In tak- 
ing leave of you as your commander, permit me to tender 
you my kindest regards for the treatment I have received 
from you during three years of active service. That I have 
committed errors in the discharge of my duties, I am fully 
aware; but I trust you will have charity enough to charge 
them to mistaken judgment. I have endeavored since I have 
been with you to discharge my duties toward you and our 
Government as well as I knew how. The best interest of the 
service, and your own personal welfare, have been my con- 
stant aim. 

Your courage, industry and patriotism, it is not for me to 
extol. Of all these you have given ample proof on many 
well-fought fields; the suffering necessarily incident to three 
years' campaigning, the impartial historian must give you 
credit for well enduring; and a grateful people will receive 
and bless you as their defenders. 

You entered the service in the darkest and most gloomy 
hour of our country's history. You have helped dispel that 
darkness and gloom, and now return to your homes, with 
your country at peace with the world, the unholy and unnat- 
ural rebellion, that was organized to crush this noble llepublic, 
brought to a final and glorious end, and the integrity and 
stability of the Government fully vindicated. For all this 
you have great cause to rejoice and be thankful. 

But in your rejoicing do not forget that many of the brave 
men who went out with us are not here for muster-out. They 
have sealed their patriotism with their lives, and have been 



192 HOME AGAIN. 

offered up as a sacrifice on the altar of their country. Reserve 
a place in your hearts to cherish their memories; and let their 
little ones be your special care. 

In retiring to private life, each and every one of you carries 
with him my warmest wishes for his success. Be as good citi- 
zens as you have been soldiers — and I have no doubt you will 
and your country-men will still have greater cause to be proud 
of you. 

The i)rivations and perils through which we have passed 
together, have endeared you all to me ; and notwithstanding 
we separate here to join our families and friends, from whom 
we have been so long absent, the thought that we shall meet 
no more together, until the Reveille of Eternity shall be 
sounded, brings with it feelings of sadness, feelings which I 
have not words to express. 

Officers and soldiers, as your colonel and commander, I bid 
you farewell!" 

This parting word was received in respectful silence. It 
might be supposed that there came now a pathetic scene — that 
the men who had fought side by side so long, would not dis- 
band without some sign of sorrow ; but such was not the case. 
We were to lose our organization, indeed, but would mostly 
be neighbors still; and even had not the hopes of happy 
meetings soon, to come with loved ones dearer far, been upper- 
most in every mind, Western men are made of too stern 
stuff to show much emotion at such a parting. Practically, 
the scene was the very reverse of pathetic. Each man, as his 
name was called, stepped to the window, received his 
greenbacks and discharge, and went forth, free and uncon- 
trolled, whithersoever he pleased, hardly escaping the pleasant 
banter of those whose turn had not yet come. "IIow are you, 
citizen?" "Say, over yonder is Davenport. Do you think 
you can find the way, now that you have no body to take care 
of you?" There was much squaring-up of little debts, some 
hand-shakings and words of parting, from those who did not 



HOME AGAIN. 193 

expect soon to meet again, and then each one, without waiting 
for the rest, took his individual way westward; and thus 
unceremoniously, the 33d Iowa Infantry disbanded. 

The great majority of the men reached their homes on the 
night of the 9th — as nearly as could be, three years from the 
time of their enlisting. Thus had been answered the prayer 
and prophecy of that dear old song which had so often cheered 
us in the gloomiest hours : 

" God bless you, boys ! We'll welcome you home, 
Wlien rebels are in the dust ! " 

Who shall describe the sacred, sweet emotion of husband 
and wife, parent and son, so long parted, now met in happi- 
ness and home; or that newer, wilder rapture that thrilled the 
hearts of lovers, faithful still, joined now in an embrace whose 
i exquisite bliss would gild all the past of trial and danger ! 

Home, home, home ! 
No more the deep-mouthed cannon's vengeful roar, 
Or musket's rattling roll shall come, 

No more, no more 

No more the warning cry, 
" Halt ! who comes there ? " — the watchful, straining gaze, 
Shall warm the chilling blood with danger nigh, 

In coming days. 

No more.the dull routine 
Of camp, its weary drills and toilsome show — 
Muster, parade, review — aflfect us now : 

These aU have been. 

No more on burning sand, 
j Or through the gloomy swamp our course shaU lay, 

I Where lurks the enemy on either hand, 

By night or day. 

No more the dreadful scene, 
Of battle-field or hospital shall come 
The happy dreams of future days between; 

There's peace at home. 

The weary night is past. 
Oh ! who shall teU the heart-felt happiness 
Of this dear morning which in joy at last 

Has come to bless ? 

14 



APPENDIX 



ROLL 

OF THE 

THIRTY -THIRD IOWA INFANTRY 

COPIED FROM 

REGIMENTAL DESCRIPTIVE BOOK 

AT MUSTER -OUT. 



FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 



MUSTERED IN. 

Samuel A. JltCE, Colonel. Promoted to Brigadier-General, August 4th, 1?63, 

Cyiius H. Mackey, Lieut.-Colonel. Promoted to Colonel, April 22d, 1864. 

Hiram D. GrBSON, Major. Resigned, April 22d, 1861. 

F. F. BxjKLOCK, Adjutant. Discharged by promotion to another regiment, 

Henry B. Myers, Quartermaster. Resigned, March 16th, 1864. 

Arad Parks, Surgeon. Resigned, January 11th, 1864. 

John Y. Hopkins, Assistant Surgeon. Promoted to Surgeon, July 29th, 1864. 

Wm. N. Scott, Assistant Surgeon. Resigned, December 24th, 1864. 

Robert A. McAyeally, Chaplain. Resigned, July 24th, 1863. 

Bartholomew Franken, Hospital Steward. Discharged by promotion 

April 28th, 1864. 
Eugene W. Rice, Quartermaster-Sergeant. Promoted to Quartermaster, 

April 10th, 1864. 
Samuel B. Evans, Commissary-Sergeant. Discharged by promotion, Dec^ 

30th, 1865. 
John F« LACey, Sergeoat-Major. Promoted to Lieutenant, April 16th, 1863. 

MUSTERED OUT. 

Cyrus H. MACKsf , Colonel. Wounded at Jenkins' Ferry, April 30th, 1861. 
John Lofland, Lieutenant-Colonel. 
Cyrus B. Boydston, Major. 

CHARLES H. Sharman, Adjutant. "Wounded at Helena, July 4th, 1863. 
Eugene W. Rice, Quartermaster. 
Francis M. Slusser, Chaplain. 
John Y. Hopkins, Surgeon. 

John R. Crawford, Sergeant-Major. Wounded and taken prisoner at Jen- 
kins' Ferry, April 30th, 1864. 
Reuben Whitaker, Hospital Steward. 
Charles G. Bennett, Quartermaster-Sergeant. 
ALBERT G, Berkey, Commissary-Sergeant. 
A. F. Sperry, Principal Musician. 



CASUALTIES. 
CASUALTIES. 



COMI'ANY A. 

Josiah F. Curtis, wounded at Helena. 

Nathaniel H. Richardson, taken prisoner at Mark's Mills. 

James A. Beaver, killed at Helena. 

James T. Duncan, wounded and probably killed at Jenkins' Ferry. 

David Forst, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Alff ed Hager, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Hiram P. Henry, taken prisoner at Helena, and wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

John S. Johnston, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Wm. F. McKern, killed at Helena. 

Milton Miner, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Peter McKenney, killed at Helena. 

John B. Nichols, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Henry H. Reaves, wounded at Helena. 

Jesse T. Sherwood, killed at Helena. 

Jonathan S. Tindall, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

James H. Wycoft', killed at Helena. 

Company B. 
John R. Alsup, taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 
Jas. H. Davis, " " on Yazoo Pass. 

Dennis Decker, " " " " " 

" " wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Francis M. Dyer, " " " " 

"William Harris, wounded at Spanish Fort. 
James B. Herrell, taken prisoner on Yazoo Pass. 
John Lee, " " " " " 

John aianefee, wounded at Helena. 
Jacob Newkirk, killed at Helena. 
George Payton, jr., taken prisoner on Yazoo Pass. 
Hannibal Rogers, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry, 
Jefferson Utterback, taken prisoner on Yazoo Pass. 
Francis M.,Wertz, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 
George W. Long, wounded at Spanish Fort. 
John E. Nichols, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Company C. 

Joshua B. Wells, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

John F. Gaunt, " " " " 

George G. Curry, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Reuben Coomes, wounded at Helena and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Frederick Butler, taken prisoner at Helena. 

James Adair, wounded " " 

Henry Coomes, " " " 

James E. Chick, taken prisoner " " 

William Campbell, wounded at Spanish Fort. 

Edward Currier, killed at Helena. 



CASUALTIES. 199 

Robert W. B. Currey, wounded at Jenkins" Ferry 

John Dove, " " " " 

Joab Fox, killed at Helena. 

James H. D. Goodman, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Sanford Grahiam, wounded at Helena. 

Thomas G. Gooden, wounded at Spanish Fort. 

Edward Graham, killed at Jenkins' Ferry. 

William H. Harris, killed at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Oliver Johnston, killed at Helena. 

George W. Lundy, taken prisoner at flelena. 

Henry C. Ludington, killed at Helena. 

William Osborn, wounded at Helena, and wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

John R. Pilgrim, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Samuel Ream, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

James B. Spain, wounded at Helena. 

Robert Talbot, " " " 

William Victor, taken prisoner at Helena. 

William B. Walker, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

John B. Williams, killed at Helena. 

Owen Bartlett, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Mortimer Jackson, " " " " 

CX)MPANY D. 

Jacob Houser, killed at Helena. 

William HiUiard, taken prisoner at Helena. 

John W. Jones, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Moses F. Atwood, wounded at Helena. 

Edwin B. Batterson, killed at Helena. 

Levi E. Brundage, " " " 

William E. Boyer, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Samuel H. Doughman, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Samuel L. Deweese, " " " " 

Abraham C. Hopkins, taken prisoner at Helena. 

Morris A. Quaintance, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

John H. Ramey, wounded at Helena. 

David Adams, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

WiUiam Trotaridge, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

George R. Mitchell, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

William Thorp, " " " " 

Company E. 

John M. Finney, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Marion Dunbar, taken prisoner at Mark's Mills. 

Lewis H. Cochran, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Amos Cornes, killed at " 

Benjamin Cruzen, killed at " 

Adam Eichelberger, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Fero'. 

John B. Harris, wounded at 

Anthony Hawk, wounded and taken prisoner at 

Thomas H. Hinkle, killed at 

Philander M-cMullen, wounded and taken prisoner at 



200 CASUALTIES. 

Hamuel S. Robertson, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Levi Sliaw, wounded at " " 

Jolin S. Wharton, wounded at Spanisli Fort. 

David G. Wilson, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Willis S. Bird, " " 

John H. Miller, " " " *' 

Wbeeler Chadwick, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Joseph Redpath, wounded at " " 

William J. Bowers, " " " " 

James W. Grover, " " " " 

Daniel Bacon, " " " " 

Company F. 

Ashley A. Buckner, killed at Helena. 

Abraham Day, wounded at Spanish Fort. 

Francis M. Gibson, taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Walker B. Gibson, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Samuel B. Montgomery, wounded at " " 

John N. Miner, wounded at Helena. 

Daniel McCreary, killed " " 

Joseph T. Miller, " " " 

Thomas Hillwell, " '• 

Jasper Skinner, killed at Jen^ s' Ferry. 

Company G. 

Isaac N. Ritner, wounded at 'n's Ferry. 

Nicholas Schippers, wounded by sh whackers on Arkansas River, January 
28th, 1864. 

Lucien Reynolds, wounded and t-'ken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Klyn de Bruyn, taken prison " '• 

Tunis Blockland, killed at lit i. 

William H. H, Downing, take isoner at Helena. 

Joseph W. Dungan, wounded vanish Fort. 

William O. Downes, wounded . enkins' Ferry. 

Jacob Miller, killed at Helen; . 

John Metz, wounded at Spanis ort. 

John Niermeyer, wounded and ten prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

William P. Smiley, killed at Ht la. 

George W. Towne, wounded and ^ aken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Jacob Taylor, wounded at " " 

Enos M. Woods, wounded near Camden, Ark., April loth, 18C4, and left prison- 
er at Camden. 

Thomas D. Wallace, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Daniel Wiser, taken prisoner at Mark's Mills. 

Martin Walraven, wounded at Spanish Fort. 

John Henry, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Company H. 

John Wightman, killed at Jenkins' Ferry. 
Thomas J. Lawler, wounded at " " 
James Garrett, " " " " 



CASUALTIES. 201 

Clark Bevin, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 
William T. Dison, wounded at " " 

Dorman Hiner, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 
William Goldthwait, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 
David Holloway, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 
William R. Hoyt, wounded at 
Thomas Landry, wounded and taken prisoner at 
Allen A. ISIcNeil, wounded at 
Marvin A. Peck, wounded and taken prisoner at 
William J. Parks, " " •• " " 

Josepli M. Roland, killed at 

William M. Rodman, wounded and taken prisoner at 
Philip Suitor, wounded and taken prisoner at 
Oliver Seaton, left as nurse at Camden. 
George W. Shanafelt, killed at Jenkins' Ferry. 
John Shoff, wounded at " " 

James D. Compton, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 
Owen P. McNeal, wounded at " " 

Company I. 

Hans Fergerson, taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Oscar L. Jones, wounded at " " 

Joseph Brobst, wounded and taken prise r at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Peter A. Bonebrake, wounded at ' ' " " 

John Bruett, wounded and taken prisonc Jenkins' Ferry, 

\ViUiam P. Funk, killed at Prairie de Ar' Vpril 10th, 1864. 

William Goff, wounded at Helena. 

Eri Qoodenough, wounded at Jenkins* -' er-y. 

John M. Henderson, killed at " 

John M. McCleland, wounded at " "" 

WiUiam H. Parker, ' • ^^ 

Thomas Smith, taken prisoner at Helen ; ' 
George W. Stanfleld, killed at Helena. 

James W. Strong, wounded and taken ? ler at Jenkins' Ferry. 
John S. Snyder, " " " '' ""■ " " " 

James L Welch, killed at ■* «< « 

David T. AVelch, taken prisoner at ' " " 

John Spohn, killed at Helena. 

Smith Dunlap, wounded and taken pri ■ aer at Jenkins' Ferry. 
William O. Reed, wounded at ' " " 

Coiipa:st K. 

Matthew D. Gilchrist, killed at Helena. 

William R. Cowan, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

David T. Evans, " " " 

Henry C. Haskell, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Francis M. Playle, " " 

John C. Roberts, wounded at 

George B. Stratton, wounded and taken prisoner at " 

Alexander Jones, " " " 

John W. Martin, wounded at 

James Wlndell, killed at 

15 



202 CASUALTIES. 

William H. Witlirow, wounded at Poison Springs, April 15tli, lS(>i. 

William H. Anderson, wounded at Poison Springs. 

Enocli F. Henderson, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Samuel H. Smith, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' Ferry. 

William H. Coleburn, " " " " " 

John Burgess, wounded on Walnut Ridge, April 15th, 1S64. 

Ephriam Smith, killed at Jenkins' Ferry. 

KISCELIiAKEOTJS CASUALTIES. 

Colonel Cj'rus H. Mackey, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 

Captain Andrew J. Comstock, Co. C, wounded and taken prisoner at Jenkins' 

Ferry. 
Captain L. W. "Whipple, Co. G, wounded at Helena. 

Captain Paris T. Totten, Co. I, died of wounds received at Jenkins' Ferry. 
Second Lieutenant OUver J. Klndig, Co. C, wounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 
Second Lieutenant Charles H. Sharman, Co. G, wounded at Helena. 
Second Lieutenant Wilson De Garmo, Co. H, v/ounded at Jenkins' Ferry. 
First Lieutenant Thomas R. Connor, Co. K, killed at Jenkins' Ferry. 



EOSTEE OF THE EEGIMENT. 



ROSTER OP THE REGIMENT. 



COMPANY A. 



CYRUS B. BOYDSTON, Captain. 

S. S. PIERCE, First Lieutenant. 

E. R. WOODRUFF, Second Lieutenant. 



Adams, Edwin M. 
Antrim, William 
Auten, John B. 
Anten, Thomas 
Bishop, Abljah W. 
Barnhill, Benjamin 
Barnhill, James 
Brown, George 
Brown, Wilson L. 
Breese, Isaac 
Brewster, Henry D. 
Bellamy, Samuel W. 
Busenburgh, Daniel 
Beaver, James A. 
Burdlck, George L. 
Brooks, Peter 
Baker, Justus C. 
Brown, Francis H. 
Brown, William D. 
Cooper, James M. 
Curtis, Joseph F. 
Collins, Lodrick C. 
Cooper, Ephralm 
Chrisman, William T. 
Chrisman, James H. 
Chambers, Zephaniah 
Chambers, William 
Chambers, William R. 
Craig, John 
Cradick, William W. 



Harned, Michael K. 
Hammond, Henry J. 
Hammond, Greenville 
Hager, Alfred 
Hunter, Joseph F. 
Heaton, Samuel 
Hlatt, Lewis 
Hodges, Milton J. 
Hodges, William W. 
Henry, Hiram P. 
Hicks, Robert 
Hicks, James 
Harding, Wm. H. 
Inman, John 
Ivey, George R. 
Johnston, John S. 
Jolliffe, Albert 
Jeffers, John 
Kendrick, Amerlcus 
Kendrick, John C. 
Kennedy, John 
Levan, Jacob 
Leach, Vincent 
McKinney, John 
McGuire, William 
McKein, Wm. F. 
May, Alexander P, 
Miner, Milton 
Morrow, William J. 
Moltem, Wm. J. 



Rowland, David W. 
Reaves, Henry H. 
C. Reaves, Clark 

Richards, Lorenzo D. 
Roan, Nat. C. 
Richards, John 
Schee, Oliver 
Sherwood, Jesse F. 
Smith, Hamilton E. 
Smith, George W. 
Snyder, John 
Shawver, Jacob 
Sampson, Levi J. 
Stone, Freeman M. 
Shilling, John 
Sturdefant, Thaddeus 
Todd, Jacob P. 
Tindall, Jonathan S. 
Vandyke, Thomas J. 
Vandyke, John H. 
Vernon, Elijah. 
Vernon, John T. 
Vernon, Wm. 
Wallace, Thomas J. 
Welch, John M. 
Wllkenson, James 
Wycoff, John W. 
Wycoff, James II. 
Walker, Simon 
Willis, James 

3 j 



206 



BOSTER OF THE REGIMENT. 



Curtis, Francis 
Duncan, James F. 
Day, Hiram C. 
Downing, George S. 
Fort, Daniel 
Feagins, Leonard B. 
Forst, David 
Foster, Joseph B. 
Grant, John 
Gregory, Enocli G. 
Gregory, John W. 
Gibson, "Wm. 
Gose, Stephen A. 
Harding, John W. 



McPheters, Jacob 
McElroy, John J. 
McKinney, Peter 
Miner, Josiah 
North, Layton H. 
Nichols, Ozias D. 
Nichols, John B. 
Nichols, Joseph W. 
Neal, Charles D. O, 
Patterson, Hugh W. 
Persons, George E. 
Richardson, Nathaniel 
Roan, Thomas T. 
Roan, James M. 



"Walters, Peter 
Walters, Wm. J. 
Smith, James 
Metcalf, James 
Strait, Wm. B. 
Wilson, Thomas M. 
Millen, Robert A. 
Jones, Thomas 
Browning, Maxwell li . 
Minor, Wm. 
Ralston, David C. 
H.Spurgeon, James H. 
Booth, Jesse L. 



COMPANY B. 



JOHN P. YERGER, Captain. 
WM. S. PARMELEY, First Lieutenant. 
JOSEPH H. SHAWHAN, Second Lieutenant. 



Alsup, John R. 
Adams, David H. 
Allen, John 
Bralten, Andrew 
Booton, George W. 
Butler, Michael 
Boegel, Henry H. 
Boston, Asa S. 
Basey James A. 
Bell, Zephaniah 
Bottger, John C. 
Bradley, Samuel S. 
Baxter, Lewis 
Black, Philander 
Basil, Jeremiah 
Bowman, Heni-y V. 
Crow, John H. 
Clarahan, Michael J. 
Clemmens, Henry 
Connor, Aaron 
Cole, Eleazer 
Case, James H. 
Carlile, Samuel 
Courtney, James H. 
Cattell, John W. 



Fowler, David D, 
Parmer, John L. 
Ford, Jacob 
Franklin, Joel 
Givan, Henry C. 
Gann, Leander O. 
Gann, John L. 
Griffin, Harlan 
Harter, Joseph J. 
Howard, John W. 
Harris, William 
Hax, John 
Herrell, James B. 
Hardesty, Samuel B. 
Jacobs, James B. 
Jenner, Thomas A. 
Jones, Wm, H. 
Keener, John W. C, 
Kensler, George 
Klett, Godfrey, 
Lambert, David 
Lee, John 
Lowe, James M. 
Landers, Henry J. 
Leonard, Francis M. 



Malone, James H. 
Newkirk, Jacob H. 
Nichois, John E. 
Nelson, William D. 
Nelson, William H. 
O'Niel, John S. 
Payton, George, jr, 
Payton, John 
Payton, William, 
Payton, George, 
Quick, Tennis 
Quick, Stheter 
Quick, James 
Randall, Machron W. 
Randall, Charles, 
Rogers, Hannibal 
Shawhan, George W. 
Smith, Zelek C. 
Shallenberger, Hiram 
Stout, George W. 
Thompson, Albert J. 
Thompson, Thomas J. 
Thompson, Albert E, 
Trueblood, Elijah, 
Utterback, Jcflferson 



ROSTER OF THE REGIMENT. 



207 



Case, John H. 
Claralian, Patrick 
Case, George C. 
Crooks, Jacob V. 
Courtney, Howard F. 
Carson, Henry S. 
Clirisnian, John 
Davis, James H. 
Duree, George W. 
Duree, Henry P. 
Decker, Dennis 
Dyer, Francis M. 
Evans, Samuel B. 
Evans, Gideon L. 
Eastburn, Jobn B. 
Fear, James H. 



Long, George ^Y. 
Matthews, Fenelon B. 
Myers, Thomas B. 
Mead, Augustus M. 
Miles, John 
McCalley, Jacob 
Miles, Daniel 
Moore, Robert 
SIcGonegal, Charles 
Moore, Joseph C. 
Menefee, John 
Morgan, Nathan 
McGrew, Leander 
Miller, Jacob E. 
McAdams, Edwin J. 
ilalin, \Vm, 



Wescott, Benjamin 
Wright, William A. 
Wilson, David 
Ward, William E. 
Ward, Samuel A. 
Woolard, Jam.es F. 
Wertz, Francis M. 
Wait, Reuben 
Stout, Wm. H. 
IMoffat, AVm. A. 
Long, Edward. 
Henderson, Wm. 
Tucker, Leander. 
Cark, Wm. B. 



COMPANY C. 



ANDRBV/ J. COMSTOCK, Captain. 
ROBERT F. BURTON, First Lieutenant, 
CYRUS H. TALBOT, Second Lieutenant. 



Armstrong, David 
Adair, James 
Adair, Marion 
Butler, Frederick 
Barlean, Samuel 
Barlean, Jonas 
Butler, Jacob B. 
Baker, James V/. 
Baldwin, Sylvester 
Bartlett, Owen P. 
Berry, James M. 
Currej^ George G. 
Coonies, Reuben 
Crowder, Thomas 
Crowder, Charles 
Chick, Elijah J. 
Castlenian, Amanuel 
Coomes, Henry 
Chick, James E. 
Coterell, Wesley 
Crayton, James 
Campbell, Wm. 
Currier, Edward 



Goodwin, James H. D. 
Graham, Sandfcrd 
Garey, Frederick 
Grant. Cyrus A. 
Grace, James R, 
Grace, John R, 
Gooden, Thomas G. 
Graham, Edward 
Groves, John H. 
Goodwin, Abraham 
Graham, Nelson 
Hook, Norman R. 
Harper, Joseph 
Harris, Wm. H. 
Harris, Wth. 
Holton, Richard W. 
Johnston, Oliver 
Joy, Solomon 
Jones, Alonzo 
Jackson, Jlortimer 
Jones, Wm. R. 
Kissick, Robert 
Kjndig, Allen R. 



Myers, Wm. F. 
Nation, James F. 
Osborn, Wm. 
Pilgrim, John R. 
Patten, Wm. H. 
Petty, Amos D. 
Patten, John M. 
Rardin, Jethro 
Ryan, Jacob S. 
Reaves, James H. 
Ryan, Samuel 
Scott, James B. 
Stroud, Wm. H. 
Sharp, George H. 
Spain, James B. 
Stephens, George W. 
Stewart, Joseph P. 
Spain, Joshua 
Schee, George W. 
Talbott, Robert 
Talbott, Richard J. 
Timbrel, Lot 
Vancleve, Samuel O. 



208 



KOSTER OF TKE REGIMENT. 



Curry, Robert W. B. 
Chaplain, James M. 
Duke, Hamilton 
Davis, George R. 
Delong, Thomas E. 
Dove, George W. 
Dove, John 
Dodge, Wm. 
Eckroate, John 
EUis, Wm. A. 
Ellington, Michael W. 
Ellington, John D. 
Foreman, George 
Fox, Joab 
Fenn, Deno 
Gaunt, John F. 



Kindig, Oliver J. 
Kunzman, John George 
Kirkpatrick, James W. 
Knight, Samuel 
Keeser, Rezin 
Lundy, Wm. 
Lundy, George W. 
Ladlngton, Henry C. 
Lincoln, Ijcvi W. 
Leatherman, John S. 
Mills, Elias 
McBride, Harvey C. 
]Morrow, Wm. W. 
Mullen, Isaac A. 
Mcintosh, Wm. 
Mcintosh, Jeremiah 



Victor, Wm. 
Vancleve, Albert 
Wells, Joshua B. 
Wilson, Wm. 
Wilson, Clark 
AVilson, Robert 
Wright, Joshua 
Weense, John 
Winn, Robert 
Walker. Wm. B. 
Williams, John B. 
Yeadon, Samuel 
Sharp, George 
Wright, John 
Ream, John T. 



COMPANY D. 



JOHN LOFLAND, Captain. 
DENNY M. GUNN, First Ueutenant. 
RILEY JESSUP, Second Lieutenant. 



Adams, George 
Atwood, Moses F. 
Adams, David 
Apple ton, Clark 
Atwood, Stephen 
Bennett, Charles Q. 
Brower, David M. C. 
Bass, Andrew J. 
Berkey, Albert G. 
Brewster, Philander 
Batterson, Edwin B, 
Brundedge, Levi E. 
Boyer, Wm. E. 
Brown, Nathaniel H. 
Burris, Stacey 
Bupp, Frank 
Blackstone, Thomas J. 
Crawford, John R. 
Counsel, Oran 
Champ, Thornton 
Coe, Alven H. 
Cope, Henry 
Collins, John C, 



Hines, Ezra F. 
Houser, Jacob 
Hughes, Jared 
Hilliard, William 
Hopkins, Abraham C. 
Hiner, Jesse 
Hiner, David 
Hiner, Wm. 
Hiatt, Amos 
Hull, Benjamin 
Heaverlo, Andrew 
Hewson, Samuel 
Hull, Ahalial 
Jones, John W. 
Kindig, Wm. H. 
Killough, John H. 
Kirkpatrick, George N. 
Leighton, Henry C. 
Locke, AVm. G. 
Lacey, John F. 
Likens, Wm. 
Lafollett, John W. 
Larkins, J. W. 



Reeder, Pemberton 
Rockwell, Alanson 
Reams, Vincent 
Randall, Jefferson 
Stephens, David 
Slater, Elisha W. 
Roberts, James M. 
Rice, Eugene W. 
Schwalm, Albert W. 
Stevens, Hugh 
Sandiland, Wm. A. 
Sandiland, Alexander 
Shannon, John A. 
Stout, Thomas C. 
Shelley, Benjamin F. 
Smith, Wm. F. 
Tracy, Wm. 
Tracy, Marion 
Totman, Nathaniel 
Thompson, Joseph 
Talbot, Wm. H. 
Trobrldge, Wm. 
Thompson, David R. 



ROSTER OF THE REGIMENT, 



209 



Clark, Henry M, 
Darrow, James E. 
Donghman, Samuel H, 
Doughm^an, Andrew J. 
Deweese, Wm, J. 
Deweese, Samuel L. 
Deweese, Jolin B. 
Donelson, Amos W. 
Dixon, Harvey M. 
Dilley, David M. 
Ewing, John N. 
Ellis, Adelbert L, 
Evans, Wm. L. 
Enos, Wm. 
Fagan, Wm. 
Flanders, Nathan N. 
Garden, Thomas J. 
Grey, Amos 



Moore, Eliphaz 
Middleton, Jesse H. 
Mahaffey, John 
McKinsey, David P. 
Michener, Henry P. 
McNeal, Henry P. 
Mitchell, George R. 
Needham, David L. 
Newton, Henry 
Pope, Washington C. 
Peckover, Wm. 
Peters, Wm. C. 
Proctor, Jefferson, 
Proctor, Wm. 
Packer, Isaac W. D. 
Peckover, John 
Qualntance, Morris A, 
Ramey, John H. 



Vickers, Sandford 
Vickroy, Lewis F. 
Williams, ThomasJ. 
Winder, Hugh W. 
Widows, James H. 
Wood, David J. M. 
Warner, James M. 
Williams, John D. 
White, Wm. L. 
W indsor, Joseph 
West, Isaac W. 
Young, John C. 
Zane, Wm. L. 
Thorp, Wm. 
Mendenhall, Wm. 
Barr, Pinckney F. 



COMPANY E. 



JOHN P. WALKER, Captain. 
CHENEY PROUTY, First Ideutenant. 
T. L. SEEVERS, Second Lieutenant. 



Allen, Elam 
Armel, William 
Breckenridge, John A. 
Blackstone, Wm. M. 
Boyer, Richard M. 
Brown, Hale B.W. 
Brown, John D. 
Bones, John 
Baughman, Ellas 
Barnes, William A. 
Boswell, Joshua R. 
Brittain, James F. 
Bird, Willis S. 
Bowers, Wm. J. 
Burket, Magnus D. 
Beal, Nicholas 
Bacon, Daniel 
Cochran, Lewis H. 
Crewder, Robert S, 
Cratty, Wm. M. 
Capper, Howard 



Glendenning, James E. 
Gosnell, Samuel D. 
Gosnell, Jesse S. 
Grover, James W. 
Hines, George 
Haleman, James W. 
Harris, John B. 
Harris, Wm. B. 
Howard, Walter 
Hawk, Anthony 
Hawk, Wm. W. 
Himes, Jacob M. 
Holloway, John S. 
Haney, Jacob D. 
Harland, Humphrey M. 
Horn, John W. 
Ilaydock, Daniel W. 
Hinckle, Thomas H. 
Hall.ZachariahT. 
Himes, Theodore 
Haynes, Robert H. 



Ruby, Tilford H. 
Roland, George 
Ruby, Martin C. 
Ross, Wm. A. 
Robb, George L. 
Reno, Wra. C. 
Robertson, Samuel S. 
Robertson. William A. 
Redpath, Joseph 
Redpath, James A. 
Snoak , Henry 
Sawyer, James H. 
Shaver, Levi C. 
Shaw, Levi 
Shaw, Cliarles W. 
Satcholl, James V,'. 
Shellcdy, Lcander K. 
Stoltzer, Stephen 
Sumner, Wm. H. 
Smith, Marlon D. 
Stephenson, Charles .M. 



210 



BOSTER OF TIIU EEGIMENG 



Claramer David 
Chtircli, Alonzo M. 
Corns, Amos 
Cochran, John D. 
Cruzen, Benjamin 
Church, Washington 
Carson, George S. 
Chadwick, "Wheeler 
Dunbar, Jlarion 
Davis, Clement A. 
Dodd, Charles J. 
Downing, Wm. H. 
Eveland, Linas J, 
Eveland, Frank 
Eichelbarger, Adam 
Finney, John M. 
Paucett, George 
Glenn, Wm. S. 



Haleman, Alexander M. 
Kinsman, Theodore S. 
Kirkendall, Joseph W. 
Lockhart, Isaac M. 
Lyster, Asher W. 
Miller, Henry T. 
McMullen, Philander 
McCuIly, Wm. S. 
McLean, John 
McLean, Alexander 
McCuUough, James 
Miller, John H. 
Nolan, Eugene 
Ogden, James 
Plumley, James S. 
Phillips, John 
Perrigo, Ambrose 
Redpath, James T. 



Slamel, Peter 
Tipton. Joshua D. 
Whitaker, John 
West, John 
Wharton, John S. 
Wilson, David G. 
Whitaker, Reuben 
Wells, John W. 
Welch, Hiram 
Wilson. Abel F. 
Williams, Joseph 
Young, Jonathan B. 
Young, Thomas H. 
Kitsmiller, Norman B. 
Green, William L. 
Likes, Robert B. 



COMPANY F. 



MEMORIAL W. FORREST, G32}tGin. 
ANDERSON DAVIS, Mrsl Lieutenant. 
LYCURGUS McCOY, Second Lieutenant. 



Allison, Wm. 
Abrams, Wm. 
Abrams, Miles 
Allen, Westley 
Allison, Thomas J. 
Abrams, James 
Arm.strong, James H. 
Bell, James W. 
Bell, John 
Botkin, Zebedee T. 
Braden, Robert C. 
Baxter, George F. 
Belvel, Samuel 
Buckner, Ashley A, 
Belvel, Nicholas 
Brunt, John M. 
Britain, Ell 
Britain, Harvey 
Bly, James H. 
Cushman, Orland D. 
Dickerson, James C. 



Hart, John S. 
Hutton, James K. P. 
Hoisington, Wm. V. 
Hadley, Joseph H. 
Hobson, Joel 
Hugh, Jamea A. 
Hone, John C. 
Hemingher, Henry 8. 
Hawk, Cornelius 
Hagan, Charles M. 
Hough, Wm. P. 
Hadley, Sidney C. 
Hughes, George H. 
Jones, John M. 
Kawk, Jacob S. 
Loomis, Nelson 
Lotspeech, Samuel P. 
Lynch, Paul A. 
Logan, Henry 
Larimore, John 
McCreary, John 



Mitchell, Wm. W. 
Morgan, John B. 
McCreary, James 
Nugent, John F. 
Nash, Charles W. 
Nash, Asa B. 
Omdorff, Wm. 
Pratt, George A. 
Robinson, Wm. S. 
Rayburn, John C. 
Sechrist, Abraham 
Spears, James R. 
Sancheztereso, Frederick 
Shepherd, Samuel 
Street, Samuel F. 
Sheets, Leander 
Stillwell, Thomas 
Spears, Ezra T. 
Stillwell, George F. 
Skinner, Jasper 
StiUweU, George W. 



EOSTER OF THE REGIMENT. 



211 



Day, Valentine 
Diirfey, Orson M. 
Day, Charles R. 
Day, Abraham 
Furgerson, James T. 
Furgerson, Russell 
Gaston, Wm. J, 
Gill, James 
Graves, Johnson 
Groesbeck, George W. 
Glass, Alexander "W. 
Gibson, Francis M. 
Gibson, Walker B. 
GoUiher, Charles B. 
Hillery, Milton 



jNIonohan, Wm. 
McPherson, John 
Mills, Eli 
Miller, Eli 
McNies, Wm, 
Montgomery, Samuel B. 
McConnel, Wm. J. 
INIonohon, David 
Minor, John N. 
McConnel, Francis M. 
McCreary, Daniel 
McNies, John 
McNies, Pleasant 
Morrison, James 
Miller, Joseph T. 



Smith, Marion 
Thomas, Gideon 
Trent, John 
Trent, Josiah 
Waugh, Albert F. 
Walker, Edwin 
Ward, Wm. 
Wood, Christopher 
Young, James M. 
Erenette, George S. 
Stewart, Jacob F. 
Miller, Asa M. 
Miller, John W. 
Bennett, Sanford G. 
Schank, John Jacob 



COMPANY G. 



LAURISTON W. WHIPPLE, Captain. 
GEORGE R. LEDYARD. First Lieutenant. 
JOHN C. KLIJN, Second lAeutenant. 



Aikins, Henry D. 
Baldwin, Samuel A. 
Bauman, Hendrick 
Beard, Wm. E. 
Black, Jonathan M. 
Bowman, Jacob L. 
Bousquet, Henry L. 
Bruijn, Kryn de 
Blockland, Tunis 
Cory, Lewis P. 
Cox, Thomas W. 
Clark, William D. 
Canine, Cornelius 
Croll, Daniel W. 
Campbell, William P. 
Davenport, James H. 
Dingeman, John W. 
Dingeman, Daniel 
Downing, William H. H. 
Dunaway, Thomas B. 
Dungan, Joseph W. 
Dunnick, CorneUus 
Downs, Wm. O. 
Dunnington, Orville R. 



Haven, John Q. 
Kock, Stephanus de 
Klyne, Cornelius 
Lemmons, Jacob 
Blorgan, John S. 
Miller, Jacob 
SIcMichael, Da rid 
]Metz, John 
McCoUum, Andrew J. 
McCullough, Wm. S. 
McLeod, John 
Mathes, Valentine 
Martin, Larkin 
Myers, Holland 
Moore, Nathan O. 
Moore, Alexander 
Martin, Levi 
Myers, Delano 
Niermeyer, John 
Nelson, Frank 
Niermyer, John, jr. 
Owen, John W. 
Pruit, Francis M. 
Prouty, Flavius A. 



Steenwyk, Gerard Van 
Steenwyk, John G. Van 
Smith, James S. 
Smiley, Wm. P. 
Sipna, Sjoerd R. 
ShuU, Richard P. 
ShuU, Jacob H. 
ShuU, Charles M. 
Steadman, Benjamin T 
Stearman, Robert H. 
Terapleton, Amaziah 
Towne, George W. 
Tol, Deik, 
Thomas, Wm. H. 
Thomas, Theodore F. 
Taylor, Jacob 
Ulsh, Henry J. 
Ulsh, Daniel G. 
Vanness, Daniel 
Versteig, Gyskrt 
Vanderkamp, Genit 
Vandermoilen, Sijlz S. ^. 
Vandenneer, Isaac [R. P. 
Vaudermaa, Uenry J. 



212 



KOSTER OF THE REGIMENT, 



Englesma, Martin 
Earp, Wm. H. 
Fidler, Jolin K. 
Ford, James H. 
Flsk, Harvey 
Griffith, Wm. V. 
Garrison, John 
Gr&en, John 
Herbert, Henry C. 
Henry, John 
Hansen, Samuel 
Hoi, Martinus 
Haze, Peter J. 
Hamrick, Allen 
Hamilton, Wm. H. 
Hamilton, Joseph D. 



Price, Gilmore 
Peters, Julias A. M. 
Perkins, Ezra H. 
Ritner, Isaac N. 
Reynolds, Lucien 
Rubertus, Herman D. 
Roberts, James P. 
Richardson, George R. 
Rhynsburger, John J. 
Robbins, Charles H, 
Sharman, Charles H. 
Sleyster, Warnerus 
Schippers, Nicholas 
Sperry, Andrew F. 
Squires, John 
Stallard, Luke 



Vorhles, Sanford 
Vineyard, Thomas 
Veenschoten, Evert Van 
Vorhies, Wm. 
Wheeler, Harman 
Woods, Enos M. 
Wallace, Thomas D. 
Wiser, Daniel 
Williamson, Thomas 
Watkins, Joseph F. 
Walraven, Martin 
Ward, Benjamin F. 
White, Thomas J. 
Wycoff, John W. 
Zeenu, Cornelius de 



COMPANY H. 



JOHN DILLON, Captain. 

JOSEPH L. SMITH, First Lieutenant. 

WILLIAM GORE, Second Lieutenant. 



Adams, Wilson 
Allen, William 
Ashley, George 
Beardsley, Robert B. 
Bales, Levi M. 
Brown, Stephen J. 
Boon, Clark 
Brumback, Garrison 
Brunson, William D. 
Brunson, Newton H. 
Cooper, Albert 
Campbell, Lewis 
Cunningham, John B. 
Curby, Abram R. 
Cabler, Daniel 
Cline, Jacob 
Curby, Jeremiah 
Campbell, Joseph 
Campbell, Wesley 
Clark, Thomas J 
Campton, James D, 
Campbell, Samuel 
Coffman, James A. 



Gow, Daniel A. 
Gow, Jefferson 
Holland, David O. 
Hollingsworth, Ezra 
Hay worth, James D. 
HoUiday, Jerome 
Holloway, David 
Hermon, James 
Heald, Henry 
Hardenhook, John 
Herr, William 
Hoyt, William R. 
Hall, Reuben M. 
Hildebrand, Samuel M. 
Irwin, William 
Irons, Charles 
Irons, John 
Johnson, Frank 
Linebarger, Samuel 
Lawler, Thomas J. 
Lane, John T. 
Landreth, Harvey 
Landry, Thomas 



Riley, Joseph H. 
Roland, Joseph M. 
Rodman, William M. 
Suitor, Joseph L. 
Simms, Ellington T. 
Stephenson, Thomas 
Simpson, Thomas 
Shanafelt, John W. 
Suitor, Philip 
Schoville, William 
Smith, John V. 
Shanafelt, Owen K. 
Smith, William H. 
Stokesbury, James H. 
Sanders, Samuel R. 
Swails, Jacob 
Seaton, Oliver 
Slate, Lorenzo 
Shanafelt, George W. 
Shoff, John 
Smith, Aaron B. 
Smith, Philip S. 
Turner, Henry J. 



ROSTER OF THF REGIMENT. 



213 



Currier, Victor 
De Qarmo, Wilson 
Disor, John W. 
Dison, William T, 
Doty, Ezra 
Dorman, Hiner 
Decker, Elisha 
Decker, Francis M. 
Eaton, Jolin C. 
Edmondson, William F, 
Eaton, Marcus D. 
Ford, Usarius C. 
Fry, John 
Fry, David 
Fish, WilUam J. 
Franken, Bartholomew 
Garrett, James 
Goldthwait, Charles J. 



Lakin, Thomas 
Lakin, John W. 
Marling, George W. 
McCombs, Benjamin M. 
Mills, Elwood 
McCord, Alfred J. 
McNiel, Allen A. 
McNeal, Owen P. 
Moore, William J. 
Nathlich, Adelbert 
Nelson, Edward 
Nyswanner, David 
Newport, Jesse 
Peck, Marion A. 
Paul, Charles M. 
Potts, Sedwick 
Parks, William J. 
Peterson, Augustus 



Tracy, Hezekiah W. 
Thomas, ]\IiIton 
Tate, Martin V. 
Thompson, Lloyd P, 
Thompson, Thomas M. 
Ward, Samuel C. 
Wightman, John 
Wandling, Jacob 
Ward, John 
Waltze, Benjamin F. 
Withrell, Chauncey 
Wright, James H. 
Wells, Bloomfleld E. 
Wandling, Jacob A. 
Wilson, James M. 
Balls, James H. 



COMPANY I. 



PARIS T. TOTTEN, Captain. 

JOHN HENDERSON, First Lieutenant. 

JOHN REICH ARD, Second Lieutenant. 



Allison, John D. 
Applegate, George W. 
Anderson, John H. 
Brobst, Josiah 
Brobst, Joseph 
Banta, Smith 
Bawman, Sylvanus 
Bonebrake, Peter A. 
Bruett, John 
Clark, Joseph M. 
Carrothers, Levi 
Coura, William P. 
Conwell, George 
Carder, Henry 
Carrothers, William J. 
Dennis, Azariah 
Dunlap, Smith 
De Witt, Henry J. 
Fisher, Joseph 
Furgerson, Hans 
Funk, William P. 



Hutchinson, Daniel 
Henderson, John M. 
Haynes, Clayton T. 
Hutchinson, Arnold C. 
Hays, James M. 
Hornback, Jacob 
Horn, Levi P. 
Henry, John 
Harman, Peter 
Henderson, William M. 
Hart, James H. 
Houghar, George 
Irons, William 
Jones, Oscar L. 
Jacobs, Hubbard 
Layton, John 
Lemburger, Frederick 
Limes, Edgar F. 
Long, John W. 
McCorkel, John Y. 
Mears, John W. 



Penland, Evan B. 
Reed, Preston A. 
Richards, Josiah 
Ream, Walter 
Ridgewav, John H. 
Rowland, William 
Rankin, Andrew M. 
Rankin, Harvey 
Riddel, Joseph 
Reed, William G. 
Strong, Samuel L. 
Stephens, Drury S. 
Smith, David S. 
Smith, George J. 
Smith, Thomas 
Scott, Alexander 
Stanfield, George W 
Strong, James W. 
Spohn, Hezekiah 
Shepherd, John N. 
Snyder, John S. 



214 



EOSTEE, or THE REGIMENT. 



Funk, Isaac N. 
Farlee, Henry- 
Gibson, Alplieus W. 
Gunter, Henry B. 
GafTord, James A. 
Godfrey, Thaddeus 
Graham, William H. 
Goff, "William 
Goodwin, Nathan D. 
Graham, William. 
Goodenough, Eri 
Gaston, James A. 
Gaston, Ephraim C. 
Gibson, Jacob B. 
Hessenflow, John S. 
Hessenflow, John F. 



BIcMillen, Samuel 
Manor, Samuel 
McCorkel, Joseph L. 
McCleland John M. 
Maddy, John W. 
McCorkel, John W. 
McMillen, Henry 
McMillen, Alexander 
Newman, James A. 
Neal, Solon S. 
Parker, William H. 
Palmer, Enoch 
Pitts, Joseph P. 
Pope, William W. 
Pearson, Ira A. 
Pearson, Young 



Spohn, John 
Schee, James 
Teed, George R, 
Templin, John 
Terry, Dennis 
Vandlah, John S. 
Willey, Nathaniel D. T. 
Willey, Damon W. 
Wolf, WiUiam W. 
Wolf James M. 
Walsh, James J. 
Welch, David T. 
Woodward, Jacob 
Woodward, Calvin 
Welcher, Andrew 



COMPANY K. 



THORNTON McINTOSH, Captain. 
GEORGE GILCHRIST, First Lieutenant. 
JOHN M. BAUGH, Second Lieutenant. 



Andrews, Thomas R. 
Ashmead, James T. 
Agnew, James 
Allgood, Jefferson 
Anderson, William H. 
Boswell, John 
Blair, Robert 
Bell, James M. 
Boyd, William 
Broyles, Samuel 
Buntain, Cary A. 
Burgess, Amos 
Burgess, Andrew J. 
Boyd, Robert F. 
Boswell, Levi 
Burgess, James S. 
Burgess, John 
Connor, Thomas R. 
Crozier, Thomas S. 
Cowan, William R. 
Collins, Merrill P. 
Crozier, Matthew W. 
Camahan, Francis 



Gilchrist, IMatthew D. 
Gordon, Jasper H. 
Gaston, Cyrus 
Gregory, William 
Gaston, David 
George, Jacob 
Heath, Harvey S. 
Haskell, Royal 
Huff, Charles A. 
Higgins. Thomas 
Haskell, Daniel 
Haskell, Henry C. 
Hartman, Robert R. 
Howell, William H. 
Harris, Augustus A. 
Henry, John N. 
Henderson, Enoch F. 
Hornback, James B. 
Jones, Alexander 
Jackson, William M. 
Kernahan, Thomas A, 
Kunnen, Francis 
Loughridge, James 



Moore, William H. 
Nichol, David F. 
Porter, John 
Playle, Francis M. 
Pettichord, Wm, H. H. 
Padget, James 
Rankin, William A. 
Robertson, Darius 
Robinson, James 
Rea, John B. 
Rea, Cyrus 
Roberts, John C. 
Remington, Sylvester 
Ryan, Charles E. 
Reed, Andrew R. 
Shaw, William H. 
Stratton, George B. 
Smith, Franklin 
Shipley, James B. 
Stephenson, James M. 
Smith, Samuel H. 
Smith, Ephraim S. 
Tucker, Leander O. 



ROSTEll OP THE PvEGHVIENT. 



215 



Criss, John 
Correll, Carey A. 
Colebum, William H. 
Drinkle, Henry S. 
Dysart, David 
Dixon, IMatttiew 
Douglas, John W. 
Dixon, Nathan C. 
Eastburn, Sanford 
Evans, David T. 
Emory, William T. 
Elwell, Thomas 
Foster, Benjamin 
Fox, James B . 
Furgerson, John 



liOnghridge, William 
Lockard, Samuel L. 
Musgrove, Benjamin H. 
]McAllister, William T. 
Morgan, John G. 
]\Iiller, William O. 
McFall, David 
McKinney, William 
McCune, David 
Morgan, Lewis 
Myers, David 
Mershon, Felix G. 
Morris, John A, 
Martin, John W. 
Myers, Jefferson 



Todd, Benjamin 
Tennis, Samuel M. 
Williamson, Stephen A. 
Williamson, Solomon 
Walker, James A. 
Wymore, Robert E. 
Wagoner, Lazarus 
Williamson, Alburn JI. 
Withrow, William H. 
Windell, James 
Wymore, Jasper 11. 
Jackson, Hugh M. 
Jackson, James M. 



PROMOTIONS, ETC. 



16 



PROMOTIONS, ETC. 



The following are tlie more important changes by promotion, &c., in the 
companies, as far as can be given from present data : 

COMPANY A. 
Captain C. B. Boydston, promoted to Major, June 29th, ISM. 
Second Lieutenant E. K. Woodruff, resigned, Mai'ch 3d, 18G3. 
First Sergeant James M. Cooper, promoted to Second Lieutenant, April I2tl], 

1863; and to First Lieutenant, July 21st, 1804, 
First Sergeant A. W. Bishop, promoted to Second Lieutenant, Dec. 11th, IS&l. 
First Lieutenant S. S. Pierce, promoted to Captain. 

COMPANY B. 

Captain John P. Yerger, resigned, May 10th, 1864. 

First Lieutenant Joseph H. Shawhan, resigned, March 25th, 1863. 

Second Lieutenant Wm. S. Parmeley, promoted to First Lieutenant, May 

20th, 1803; and to Captain, June 7th, 1861. 
Second Sergeant Joseph J. Harter, promoted to Second Lieutenant, Julj- 1st, 

1863; and to First Lieutenant, June 7th, 1864. 

COMPANY C. 

First Lieutenant Robert F. Burton, resigned, April 8th, 1803. 
Second Lieutenant Cyrus H. Talbott, resigned, June 2d, 1863. 
Fourth Sergeant Oliver J. Kindig, promoted to Second Lieutenant, Oct. 16th, 

1863. 
First Sergeant Joshua B. Wells, promoted to First Lieutenant, Sept. 22d, 18c4 

and to Captain Dec. 8th, 1864, 
Second Sergeant Robert Kissick, promoted to Adjutant of 113th A. D., March 

March 28th, 1864. 
Sergeant Norman R. Hook, promoted to Second Lieutenant, Jau. 7th, 1865. 

COMPANY D, 
Captain John Lofland, promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, April 23d, ISftl. 
First Lieutenant Denny M. Gunn, resigned, Oct. 24th, 1804. 
second Lieutenant Riley Jessup, promoted to Captain, May aith, 1864, 
Second Sergeant Henry C. Leighton, promoted to Second Lieutenant, July 

21st, 1864; and to First Lieutenant Dec. 22d, 1864. 
Private D, J. Woods, promoted to Andjutant of 14th Kansas Cavalry, March. 

1863, 

2 1 9 



220 PROMOTIONS, ETC. 

Second Sergeant John R, Crawford, promoted to Sergeant-Msijor, April 16th, 

18G3. 
Fourth Sergeant Charles G. Bennett, promoted to Quarter-Master Sergeant, 

April 10th, 1864. 
Albert G. Berkey, promoted to Commissary Sergeant in 1864. 
Amos Hiatt, promoted to Second Lieutenant, Dec. 22d, 1864. 

COMPANY E. 

Captain John P. Walker, resigned, April 2d, 1863. 

First Lieutenant Cheney Prouty, promoted to Captain, May 10th, 1863. 
Second Lieutenant T. L. Seevers, promoted to First Lieutenant, May 10th, 1863. 
Second Sergeant John A. Breckinridge, promoted to Second Lieutenant, 

June 2d, 1863 ; resigned May 26th, 1864. 
Private Reuben Whitaker, promoted to Hospital Steward, April 22d, 1864. 
Private David Clammer, promoted to Captain in 54th A. D., Aug. 26th, 1863. 
Private George Fawcett, promoted to Second Lieutenant in 54th A. D., Sept. 

3d, 1803. 

COMPANY F. 

Captain M. W. Forrest, resigned, March 13th, 1863. 

First Lieutenant Anderson Davis, resigned, April 24th, 1863. 

Second Lieutenant Lycurgus McCoy, resigned, March 13th, 1863. 

Corporal John Bell, promoted to Captain, April 16th, 1863. 

Second Sergeant Frederick Sancheztereso, promoted to First Lieutenant, 

June 2d, 1863. 
First Sergeant "William J. Gaston, promoted to Second Lieutenant, March 

14th, 1863; resigned Oct., 25th, 1863. 
Private Abraham Sechrist, promoted to Second Lieutenant in 54th A. D., 

Aug. 26th, 1863. 

COMPANY G. 

Captain Lauriston "W. Whipple, promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of 113th A. 

D., June 18th, 1864. 
First Lieutenant George R. Ledyard, promoted to Captain, July 21st, 1864; 
Second Lieutenant John C. Klijn, resigned, February 24th, 1863. 
Fifth Sergeant Charles H. Sharman, promoted to Second Lieutenant, March 

1st, 1863, to First Lieutenant, July 1st, 1864, and to Adjutant, 186—. 
First Sergeant Lewis P. Cory, promoted to Second Lieutenant, July 21st, 1864, 

and to First Lieutenant, . 

First Sergeant Wm. V. Griffith, promoted to Captain in 113th A. D., May 

26th, 1864. 
First Sergeant John S. Morgan, promoted to Second Lieutenant, February 

21st, 1865. 
A. F. Sperry, promoted to Principal Musician, May 1st, 1863. 

COMPANY H, 
Captain John Dillon, resigned, July 26th, 1863. 
First Lieutenant Joseph L. Smith, resigned, April 8th, 1863. 
Second Lieutenant William H. Gore, promoted to First Lieutenant, April 

9th, 1863, and to Captain, January 1st, 1864, 
First Sergeant Wilson DeGarmo, promoted to Second Lieutenant, April 9tli, 

1863, and to First Lieutenant, July 27th, 1804. 



PROMOTIONS, ETC. 231 

First Sergeant David A. Holland, promoted to Second Lieutenant, April 22d 
18&4. 

COMPANY I, 

Captain Paris T. Totten, died of wounds received at battle of Jenkin's FeiTy, 

May 21th, 1864. 
First Lieutenant John Henderson, resigned, March 2.5th, 186;?. 
Second Lieutenant John Reichard, promoted to First Lieutenant, March 

26th, 1863; resigned, July 26th, 1863. 
First Sergeant Joseph M. Clark, promoted to First Lieutenant, November 

1st, 1863, resigned, March 30th, 1864. 
Second Sergeant Levi Carrothers, promoted to First Lieutenant, June 14th, 

1864, and to Captain, July 21st, 1864. 
Third Sergeant Samuel L. Strong, promoted to Second Lieutenant, March 

26th, 1863; resigned. May 20th, 1864. 
Sergeant Oscar L. Jones, promoted to First Lieutenant, July 21st, 1S64. 
First Sergeant Henry J. Gunter, promoted to Second Lieutenant in 113th A. 

D., May 27th, 1864. 

COMPANY K. 

Captain Thornton Mcintosh, resigned, March 3d, 1863. 

First Lieutenant George Gilchrist, resigned, March 3d, 186:5. 

Second Lieutenant John M. Baugh, promoted to Captain, March 4th, 1863; 

resigned, August 16th, 1864. 
Fourth Sergeant Thomas R. Connor, promoted to First Lieutenant, ^March 

4th, 1863 ; killed in battle of Jenkins' Ferry, April 30th, 1864. 
Corporal Wm. A. Rankin, promoted to Second Lieutenant, March 4th, 1863, 

to 1st Lieutenant, July 21st, 1864, and to Captain, September 16th, 1861. 
First Sergeant James Loughridge, promoted to First Lieutenant, September 

16th, 1864. 
Private Royal, promoted to Second Lieutenant in 51th A. D., July 26th, 1863. 
Private Sanford Eastburn, promoted to First Lieutenant in 113th A. D., May 

8th, 1864. 



OFFICIAL EErOETS. 



OFFICIAL REPORTS. 



DEFENSE OF HELENA, ARKANSAS. 



REPORT OF COLONEL S. A. RICE, COMMANDING BRIGADE. 



Head-Qtjarters 2d Brigade, ISth Div., 13th A. C, Dept. of the) 
Tenn., Helena, Ark., July 7th, A. D., 1863. j 

Captain A. Blocki, A. A. General, 

Captain: — I have the honor to submit the following report of the part 
taken by the 2d Brigade in the action of the 4th inst. : 

The 3od Missouri Infantry were stationed at Fort Curtis, and at Batteries 
A, B, C and D, which covered your entire line of defense. At all of these 
points they manned the artillery, and also had a reserve who acted as sharp- 
shooters. 

The 33d Iowa Infantry was ordered to report to Fort Curtis, opposite the 
center of your line, at day-break, so that in case of an attack they might 
readily be thrown to the support of either wing, or the center of your line. 
At 4 o'clock, A. M., the enemy, in heavy force, drove in our pickets, and 
opened the engagement on Batteries A, C and D. The 33d Iowa was 
promptly, in compliance with your orders, moved into the rifle-pits, in front 
and flanking Batteries C and D, with a small portion acting as a reserve, 
who were posted so as to command the ravine between these batteries.' 
Three companies of the 36th Iowa were sent at once to support Battery A 
and took possession of the rifle-pits flanking it. The 29th Iowa, with a 
reserve from the 36th, was ordered to take possession of the sides of the 
blufls, on the east side, and a short distance in front of Battery A, extending 
down to the Sterling road, and drive the enemy from the crests of the hllLs 
■which they already had occupied. On batteries C and D the main assault of 
the enemy was made. They hurled regiment after regiment, in closed col- 
umn, against the works, but were gallantly repulsed at Battery D, and only 
after a severe and bloody conflict, took Battery C, driving our forces 
before them, but they promptly raUied, and formed at the bottom of the 



223 OFFICIAL EEPOETS. 

bill. The artillery from Batteries A, B and D, together with Fort Curtis, 
commanding Battery C, was opened upon the enemy, and after a severe can- 
nonading, assisted by a galling fire from our infantry, they were driven 
back, with a heavy loss, and the battery retaken. The heavy loss sustained 
by the 3Sd Missoiiri and the 33d Iowa, on this portion of the field, fully 
attests their undoubted courage. 

While the engagement was thus progressing in the center, the enemy were 
also concentrating a heavy fire on the right wing, which had been assigned 
to my command. They had planted a battery within four hundred yards of 
Battery A, but protected from its fire by a point of the hill ; from the con- 
centrated fire of the 1st Indiana Battery, (light artillery,) and a section of 
the 3d Iowa Battery, under Lieutenant "Wright, assisted by our sharpshooters 
and a severe fire along the entire line, the enemy were compelled to with- 
draw their guns, with a severe loss. On this portion of our line the enemy 
had, besides their artillery, a brigade of four regiments of infantry, and a 
brigade of cavalry, under General Marmaduke, and at all points outnum- 
bered us, at least four to one, according to their own estimates. 

The oflicers and soldiers of the 29th Iowa acted with the utmost coolness 
and bravery, and steadily gained ground from the first onset. The 36th Iowa 
behaved in a manner worthy of all commendation. They were promptly 
moved to the relief of the 29tli Iowa, and drove, by their well directed fire, 
the enemy before them, occupying the crests of the hills. The enemy could 
repeatedly be heard trying to rally their columns for the purpose of charging 
on our line, and were only prevented by the continuous fire of our line, 
assisted by a heavy and well directed cross fire from our artillery and the 
rifle-pits. 

The 33d Missouri, manning the guns in the various batteries along the 
entire line, was at all points exposed to the hottest fire of the enemy, and 
deserve the highest praise for their bravery and eflaciency. The heavy loss 
sustained by the enemy fully attests the bravery, the discipline, and efll- 
ciency of your entire command. There was taken by my command several 
hundred prisoners. We have buried one hundred and fifty-six of the enemy. 
There were also taken three stands of colors and several hundred stands of 
arms. The route of the enemy was complete at all points. 

The loss in my command was forty-five killed, ninety-six wounded, and 
thirty missing. A full report of the above from each regiment, I append 
hereto. As a portion of my brigade, the 33d Iowa and part of the 33d Mis- 
souri, were in another part of the field from that assigned to my command, 
and acted more immediately under your own observation, I trust, in case I 
have not been able to present fully the part they took in the action, that 
you will supply the deficiency in your official report. A detailed account of 
the part taken by the various regiments of the brigade, would involve not 
only what was done by them but by other brigades, who bore an equally 
honorable part in the entire engagement, and especially that of Colonel 
Clayton, of the 5th Kansas, who, with the 1st Indiana Battery and his cav- 
alry, bore an imjjortant part in the engagement on the right of the line. 
When all did so well, invidious distinction would be out of place. If some 
bore more conspicuous pai'ts than others, it was because the position of their 
own commands placed them in a more important position. I take especial 
pleasure in referring to Colonel Benton, of the 29th Iowa; Colonel Kittredge, 
of the 36th Iowa ; Lieutenant-Colonel Heath, commanding 33d Missouri ; 



OFFICIAL BEPORTS. 227 

Lieutenant-Colonel Mackey, commanding 33d Iowa; Lieutenant-Colonel 
Patterson, 29th Iowa ; Majors Gibson, "Van Beck, and Shoemaker, who from 
their coolness, efficiency, and daring, are worthy of especial mention. They 
were at all tiraes at the post of danger cheering their men. Lieutenant 
Lacy, my A. A. A. General, acted as my aid during the engagement, and rode 
to whatever part of the field required his presence, and afforded me assist- 
ance of the most valuable character, and I take especial pleasure in referring 
to him.. 

I am. Captain, very respectfully, your ob't serv't, 
(Signed), SAMUEL A. RICE, 

Colonel 33d Iowa Infantry, comd'g 2d Brigade. 



CAPTURE OF LITTLE HOCK, ARKANSAS. 



REPORT OP MAJOR-GENERAL STEELE. 



Head-Qttarteks Arkansas Expedition, "I 
Little Rock, Akk., Sept. 12, 1863. j 

General: — I have the honor to submit the following as a summary of 
the operations which led to the occupation of the capital by the expedition- 
ary army under my command. 

On the 31st day of July I arrived at Helena, and pursuant to instructions 
from IMajor-General Grant, reported by letter to the commander of the 16th 
Army Corps for instructions relative to the fitting out of an expedition 
against Little Rock. General Hurlbut placed under my command all the 
troops at Helena, and the cavalry division under Brigadier-General David- 
son, then operating in Arkansas. The garrison at Helena had been 
reinforced by two brigades of Kimball's division, which had just arrived 
from Snyder's Bluff, and were suffering severely from the malarious influ- 
ences of the Yazoo country. The proportion of sick among the Helena 
troops was also very large. Three regiments were designated to remain at 
Helena, and these, with the sick and convalescents of the whole command 
were to constitute the garrison of that place. The troops at Helena designa- 
ted for the expedition amounted to about six thousand (6,000) of all arms. 
There were three 6-gun and one 4-gun batteries, including six 10-pounder 
Parrotfs. The cavalry, 1st Indiana, and 5th Kansas, amounted to less than 
(500) five hundred for duty. The 1st Indiana had three small rifled guns. 

Davidson reported something less than (6,000) six thousand present for duty 
in his cavalry division, and (18) eighteen pieces of artillery— showing an 
aggregate of about (12,000) twelve thousand for duty. Brigadier-Generals 
Kimball and Salomon obtained leave of absence, and the resignation of 
General Ross was accepted, which left me with but one general oflacer, 
Davidson 



228 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 

The resignation of my A. A. General was accepted just at this time, and 
there were no officers of the quartermaster or subsistence department at 
Helena, except Captain Allen, A. C. S., and Captain Noble, A. Q. M., who 
were in charge of the stores in the depot. I ordered the establishment of 
camps for the sick and convalescents, and organized the command in the 
best manner possible. Davidson pushed on to Clarendon and established a 
ferry for crossing troops, corduroying two miles of bottom and laying down 
the pontoon bridges across the Rock Rae bayou. On the 10th of August the 
Helena troops, organized into a division under Colonel, now Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, S. A. Rice, marched toward Clarendon, with orders to reconstruct the 
bridges which had been destroyed by the rebels and to make all necessary 
repairs on the road, which was in bad condition. 

Kimball's division, under Colonel McLean, followed next day. The whole 
command was at Clarendon and commenced crossing the river on the 17th 
of August. Before the crossing was effected I found my operations encum- 
bered by over (1,000) one thousand sick. To have established a hospital and 
depot at this point would have involved the necessity of occupying both 
sides of the river. Duvall's Bluff was a more healthy location, and the route 
from there to Little Rock possessed many advantages over the other as a 
line of operations. I therefore ordered all the stores and sick to be sent to 
Duvall's Bluff by water. The enemy had constructed rifle-pits in a com- 
manding position fronting the crossing on Rock Rae bayou, but, on the 
approach of Davidson's division, had fallen back, leaving only a picket. 
This position could easily have been turned by the road leading up from 
Harris's ferry. 

On the 22d Davidson was directed to move with his division to Deadman's 
lake and recoimoiter the enemy's position at Brownsville. On the 23d the 
rest of the command moved to Duvall's Bluff, the transports carrying the 
sick and stores under convoy of the gun-boats. An advantageous site was 
selected on the bluff for a hospital and depot, and details immediately 
ordered to throw up intrenchments, cut away the , timber on the flanks to 
give the gun-boats clear view and range, to erect sheds, &c. 

On the 24th Davidson advanced to Two Prairie bayou, and on the 25th 
continued the march, skirmisliing with Marmaduke's cavalry up to Browns- 
ville, dislodging him at that place, and driving him into his intrenchments 
at bayou Metoe on the 20tli. The attack was renewed on the 27th, and the 
enemy driven from his works on the bayou, and fired the bridge as he 
retreated. Davidson was unable to save the bridge, everything having been 
prepared for the destruction before hand. The bayou was deep and miry, 
and the pursuit of the rebels being thus checked, Davidson withdrew to his 
camp at Brownsville, leaving pickets at the crossings on the bayou. I 
received information that True's brigade from Memphis would arrive at 
Clarendon on the 20th, and immediately sent a party to construct a bridge 
across Rock Rae bayou, and a ferry-boat to cross the troops over White river. 
True crossed on the 30th of August, and on the 1st of September moved up 
to Deadman's lake. The advance from Duvall's Bluff also commenced on 
the 1st, the place having been put in such a state of defense that the conva- 
lescents and a small detail left there were deemed sufficient to hold it against 
any force the enemy would be likely to send against it. On the 2d instant 
all my available force was concentrated at Brownsville. It had been ascer- 
tained that the military road on the south side of Bayou Metoe passed 



OFFICIAL REPORTS. 2i9 

tlirougli a section impracticable for any military operations — swamp, tim- 
ber, and entanglements of vines and undergrowth, and was commanded by 
the enemy's works. I therefore directed Davidson to make a reconnoissance 
in force around the enemy's left by way of Austin, and, if practicable, to 
penetrate his lines and ascertain both his strength and position. Rice's 
division was ordered forward to make a diversion in Davidson's favor on 
Bayou Metoe. Rice drove in the enemy's picliets, shelled the woods on the 
south side of the bayou for several hours, and encamped for the night. In 
the meantime, Davidson pushed his reconnoissance until the numerous 
roads on his flanks and rear rendered it dangerous for him to proceed any 
further. The great length to which it would increase our line of communi- 
cation with our base rendered it impracticable for us to attack the enemy on 
his left flank. This reconnoissance occupied two days. 

By this time I had collected information in regard to the road leading by 
Shallow Ford and Ashley's Mills to the Arkansas and the right of the ene- 
my's works, which determined me to take that route. The march to the 
front was resumed on the 6th. Here we found ourselves again encumbered 
with a large number of sick — near 700. True's brigade and Ritter's brigade 
of cavalry were left to guard the supply train and the sick. On the 7th we 
reached the Arkansas near Ashley's Mills. At this point, Davidson's cav- 
alry, in advance, had a sharp skirmish with the enemy. The 8th and 9th 
were employed in reconnoissance, repairing the road back to Bayou Metoe, 
and in bringing up the sick and the supply train, with the two brigades left 
at Brownsville. 

I had now definitely determined upon a plan of attack. Davidson was 
directed to lay the pontoon bridge at an eligible point, throw his division 
across the Arkansas river, and move directly on Little Rock, threatening the 
enemy's right flank and rear, while I moved with the rest of the force on the 
north flank and assailed the riglit of his works. During the night of the 9th 
Davidson made his dispositions for crossing the Arkansas, and on the mor- 
ning of the 10th had the pontoon bridge laid. The second division was 
ordered to report to him at day-light to assist in covering his crossing. The 
bridge was placed in a bend of the river, and the ground on the south side 
was so completely swept by Davidson's artillery that the enemy could not 
plant a battery in any position from which he could interrupt the crossing. 

Two regiments of infantry passed over the river to drive tlae enemy's skir- 
mishers out of the woods, and the cavalry division passed on without serious 
interruption until they reached Bayou Fourche, where the enemy were 
drawn up in line to receive them. The rebels held their position obstinately 
until our artillery on the opposite side of the river was opened upon their 
flank and rear, when they gave way and were steadily pushed back by 
Davidson, the artillery constantly playing upon them from the other side of 
the river. Our two columns marclied nearly abreast on either side of the 
Arkansas. "Volumes of smoke in the direction of Little Rock indicated to 
us that the rebels had evacuated their works on the north side of the river, 
and were burning their pontoon bridges. Heavy clouds of dust moving 
down towai'd Davidson on the other side of the river made me apprehensive 
that the enemy contemplated falling upon him with his entire force. He 
was instructed in such an event to form on the beach, where his flanks could 
be protected by our artillery on the other side, and where aid might be sent 
to him by a ford. But they were in full retreat. Marmaduke's cavalry only 



230 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 

were disputing Davidson's entry of tlie city. The rebels had fired three pon- 
toon bridges laid across the Arkansas at the city, and several railroad cars. 
Two locomotives were also on Are, but were saved by us ; part of the pon- 
poons were also saved. Six steamboats were entirely destroyed by fire, and 
we are informed that Price intended to have blown up the arsenal, but was 
pressed so close that he failed in this. 

Our cavalry was too much exhausted to pursue the enemy's retreating col- 
umns far, on the evening of the 10th. Next morning Merrill's and Clayton's 
brigades renewed the chase and followed themi twenty miles, taking a nuna- 
ber of prisoners and causing the enemy to destroy a part of his train. Little 
Rock was formally surrendered by the municipal autliorities on the evening 
of the 10th. Price had undoubtedly intended to give us battle in his 
intrenchments, but was entirely surprised by our movement across the 
Arkansas, and did not suspect it until after the pontoon bridge was laid. 
When it was reported to him that our infantry were crossing, he took it for 
granted that our whole force was moving to cut off his retreat to Arkadel- 
phia. I have been assured by citizens that General Cabell, with about (4,000) 
four thousand troops from Fort Smith, had joined Pi-ice on his retreat, he 
having failed to reach here in time to assist in the defense of the place. I 
marched from Ashley's Mills on the morning of the 10th with not more than 
(7,000) seven thousand troops, having parked the trains and left a strong 
guard to defend them and the sick. 

The operation of the army from the time that I commenced organizing it 
at Helena have occupied exactly forty days. 

Our entire loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, will not exceed (100) one 
hundred. The enemy's is much greatex-, especially in prisoners— at least 
(1,000) one thousand. 

I shall reserve the list of casualties and my special recommendations for a 
future communication. However, I will say that Davidson and his cavalry 
division deserve the highest commendation. 

I enclose Brigadier-General Davidson's report. 

Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, 

FRED. STEELE, 
Major-General commanding. 
Major-General Schofield, Commanding Department of the Missouri. 



MARCH TO CAMDEN, ARKANSAS. 



Head-quarters 33d Iowa Infantry Voi.tjnteers, \ 
Camden, Ark., April 20, 18til. J 

JohnF.Laci/,A.A.A.General,lstBrig.,od Div.,7th Army Corps, and Army 

of Arkansas, 

Lieutenant : In compliance witli general orders from head-quarters 1st 

brigade, I herewith transmit you the following report pertaining to the 38d 

Regiment Iowa Infantry Volunteers, during the recent campaign, including 

lists of casualities, etc., etc. 



OFFICIAL EEPOUTS. 231 

Prior to the arrival of our forces at Prairie d'Anne, the part takeu iu any 
engagement by my regiment was entirely unimportant. On arriving at 
Prairie d'Anne, I was ordered to form line of battle and move to the left of 
the 50th Indiana, which was done. I was then ordered to form column by 
division, and in that order I moved forward on to the prairie. While cross- 
ing a slough in the timber joining the prairie, a shell from the enemy's gun 
exploded near the regiment, killing one man and breaking several guns. 
On reaching the open ground, I again deployed, sending forward two com- 
panies as skirmishers, with instructions to move steadily forward, which 
they did, driving the enemy before them, the regiment moving to their sup- 
port. In this order I moved forward till the regiment rested where the ene- 
my's artillery first opened fii'e. It then being dark, the skirmishers were 
ordered to rest in place, and the regiment retired two hundred yards to 
unexposed grounds, and bivouacked. At 11 o'clock p. m., the enemy dashed 
upon the skirmish line, but was repulsed without injury to us. The trans- 
actions of the following day are unimportant. 

On the morning of the 13th of April, we moved, in connection with the 
entire forces, through and to the west of Prairie d'Anne, our skirmisliers 
steadily driving the enemy before them. On approaching their works on 
the Camden and Washington road, the enemy hastily withdrew. From this 
time till the morning of the loth, nothing worthy of note transpired. 

On the 15th day of April, my regiment was the advance infantry. Two 
companies were deployed as skirmishers on either side of the road, and» 
having moved forward two miles, were flred upon by the enemy. The skir- 
mishers moved forward, driving them, assisted by a howitzer, until they 
came within range of the enemy's artillery, which was opened upon 
us, wounding four men. My regiment supported the 2d Missouri Battery on 
the right. Having taken this position, I sent forward three sharpshooters 
from each company to assist the skirmishers and annoy the enemy's gun- 
ners. After an engagement of two hours, the enemy withdrew from his 
IDOsition, after which the march was resumed. At about two miles distance, 
we were again fired on. While awaiting orders a shell from the enemy's 
gun burst near my regiment, dangerously wounding one man. A sliarp 
skirmisli was kept up for two and a half miles, when the enemy withdrew 
from our front. 

Our entire loss in killed and wounded when we reached Camden amounted 
to one killed and four wounded. 

I was relieved of my command on the 19th of April, while in camp at 
Camden, Colonel Mackey having arrived at the regiment. 

H. D. GIBSON, 
Major commanding regiment. 



RETURN TO LITTLE ROCK. 



Head-quabters 33d Iowa Infantry Volttnteers, \ 



Little Rock, Ark., May 6th, 1864. 
JohnF. Laey, A. A. A. General, 1st Brig., 3rf Div., 7th Army Corps, 

Lietttexant: I have the honor herewith to transmit you the following 
report of the engagement in which the 33d Regiment Iowa Infantry took 



232 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 

part from the time of my taking command at Camden, Ai-k., until its arri- 
val at Little Rock, including a list of casualities, etc. 

I arrived at Camden on the 19th day of April, and immediately took comt- 
miand of my regiment, at this time six hundred strong. Nothing of partic- 
ular interest took place from the time of the evacuation of Camden until 
my arrival at Saline river. On the evening of the 29th, at 6}4 o'clock p. m., 
I was ordered to the rear on the Camden road to support Colonel Ingle- 
mann's brigade, an attack being anticipated during the night. I stood at 
arms during the entire night, the enemy making no particular demonstra- 
tion, although in speaking distance. Night very dark and raining most of 
the time. 

About 4 o'clock A. M. on the 30th, I received orders that, as soon as the 43d 
Illinois Infantry on my left was withdraMoi, I should retire about three- 
fourths of a mile towards the river, and take position covering the passage 
of the troops while crossing. This movement I executed without being dis- 
covered by the enemy. This position I occupied half an hour when the ene- 
my made his appearance. The skirmishers immediately engaged them, 
holding them in check for half an hour. When I was relieved by the 27th 
"Wisconsin Infantry, I marched my command to a new position, one mile in 
the direction of the crossing. In twenty minutes the engagement became 
general, and I was ordered to the support of the 50th Indiana Infantry on 
the left. From this time until the close of the battle, the regiment was 
almost continually engaged. 

As to the conduct of both officers and men of my command, I can not 
speak in terms too high. To attempt distinction would be injustice to my 
command, as all did their duty nobly. A short time before the close of the 
action, I received a wound in my right arm, which compelled me to quit the 
field, the command of the regiment devolving upon Captain Boydston, 
Company A, who, at the close of the engagement, marched the regiment off 
in good order. 

The regiment arrived in camp at Little Rock, Ark., on the 3d day of May, 
1864. Nothing of importance transpired during the remainder of our march. 

It would be doing great injustice to the enlisted men of my command to 
fail to notice the manner in which they endured the fatigue and privations 
of the march, the rations being exhausted on the 29th of April. 

For the operations of the regiment prior to my command, reference is 
made to the report of Major H. D. Gibson, herewith transmitted. 

With the highest respect. 

Your obedient servant, 

C. H. MACKEY, Colonel comd'g. 

EXTENT OF CASUALTIES. 

Killed— enlisted men, 8. Wounded— commissioned officers, 6; enlisted 
men, 96. Missing— enlisted men, 13. Total loss, 123. 



OFFICIAL REPORTS. 233 

CASUALTIES IN ARKANSAS. 



List of Casualties in 33(i regiment Iowa Infantry Volunteers, tvJiile in the field, 

from March 2Zd, 1864, to April 2Glh, 18Si— Major H. D. Gibson, commanding. 

Killed.— William P. Funk, April 10th, struck in head by piece of shell. 

WoxjNDED, April 15th. —Enos M. Woods, leg, by piece of shell; Wm. H. 
Anderson, thigh, while skirmishing ; John Burgess, leg, while skirmishing ; 
William H. Withrow, hand, while skirmishing; all severely. 

Recapittjlatcon. — Total, killed, 1; wounded, 4; entire loss, 5. 

List of Casualties in 33d regiment loiva Infantry Volunteers, while in the field, 
from Ajiril 2Qth, 1864, to May 3d, 1864, time of the return of the command to Little 
Hock. 

Commissioned Officeks (all woTrNDED). — Colonel Cyrus H. Mackey, 
arm, severe ; Captains A. J. Comstock, Co. C, thigh, severely, prisoner ; Paris 
T. Totten, Co. I, thigh, severely, since died ; 1st Lieuts. Thos. R. Conner, Co. 
K, neck, mortal, died in hands of enemy ; Wilson DeGarmo, Co. H, hip, 
slight; 2d Lieut. Oliver I. Kindig, Co. C, leg, slight. 

Enlisted Men, Killed.— 2d Sergt. John N. Ewing, Co. D, left on the field ; 
Privates Thomas H. Hinlde, Co. E, left on the field; G. W. Shanafelt, Co. H, 
left on the field ; J. M. Roland, Co. H, left on the field ; Smith Banta, Co. I, 
left on the field; John M. Henderson, Co. I, left on the field; Sergt. Jasj^er 
Skinner, Co. F ; Private Wm. A. Towbridge, Co. D. 

Wounded. — Sergeant-Major John R. Crawford, thigh, severe, prisoner. 

Company A. — Corp'l John S. Johnston, leg, severe; Privates James T. 
Duncan, thigh, severe ; Jonathan S. Tindall, hip, severe ; Hii'am P. Henry, 
thigh, severe ; Alfred Hagar, shoulder, slight. 

CobipanyB. — Dennis Decker, thigh, severe, prisoner; John E. Nichols, 
arm, severe ; Francis M. Wertz, hand, slight. 

Company C — 1st Sergeant Joshua B. Wells, thigh, slight; Sergt. John T. 
Gaunt, shoulder, severe ; Corp'l Reuben Coomes, arm, slight ; Privates Mort- 
imer Jackson, hip, slight, prisoner; John Dove, breast, severe, prisoner; 
Wm. B. Walker, thigh, slight, prisoner; Owen Bartlett, ankle, slight; Wm. 
Osborn, thigh, severe, prisoner; R. W. B. Curry, thigh, severe, prisoner; 
Edward Graham, groin, severe, prisoner. 

Company D. — Corp'ls John W. Jones, leg, severe, prisoner; Samuel 
Doughman, face, slight ; Privates Samuel L. Deweese, arm, severe ; Riley 
Mitchell, arm, severe, prisoner; David Adams, leg, severe, prisoner; Wm. 
Thorp, breast, severe, prisoner ; Morris A. Quaintance, back, severe, pris- 
oner. 

Company E. — 2d Serg't John M. Finney, arm, slight; Corp'l David G. 
Wilson, shoulder, severe, prisoner ; Privates Willis S. Bird, leg, slight ; Wm. 
J. Bowers, breast, slight ; Amos Corns, abdomen, severe, prisoner ; Wheeler 
Chadwick, ankle, severe, prisoner; Benjamin Cruzen, hip, severe, prisoner; 
Lewis H. Cochran, back, slight ; Adam Eichelbarger, thigh, severe, prisoner ; 
James W. Grover, leg, slight, prisoner ; John B. Harris, thigh, slight ; An- 
thony Hawk, knee, severe, prisoner ; Philander M. Miller, abdomen, slight, 
prisoner ; John H. Miller, leg, severe, prisoner : Samuel S. Robertson, breast, 

17 



234 OFFICIAL EEPOBTS. 

slight; Joseph Redpath, arm, slight ; Levi Shaw, head, slight ; Daniel Baun, 
leg, slight. 

Company F. — Corp'l S. B. Montgomery, tliigh, slightly ; Private W. Gib- 
Bon, leg, severely, prisoner. 

Company G. — Corp'ls John K, Fidler, knees, severely, prisoner; Lucien 
Reynolds, arm, severely, prisoner ; Privates William O. Downs, neck, se- 
verely; John Henry, leg, severely, prisoner; John Nurmeyer, sr., leg, 
severely, prisoner; Isaac N. Ritner, thigh, slightly; Jacob Taylor, neck 
severely, prisoner ; George W. Towne, face and thigh, severely, prisoner ; 
Thomas D. Wallace, leg, slightly ; Stephanas Dekock, arm, severely. 

Company H.— 2d Sergt. Philip L. Suiter, shoulder, severely, prisoner ; 5th 
Sergt. John Wightman, abdomen, mortally, prisoner; Corp'ls T. J. Lawler, 
hand, severely ; James Garret, leg, sliglitly ; C. J. Goldthwaite, arm, severely ; 
David Hollaway, leg, severely, prisoner; Privates Hiner Dorman, neck, 
severely; John Shoff, leg, slightly; William M. Rodman, groin, severely, 
prisoner ; William T. Disor, abdomen, slightly ; James D. Compton, ankle, 
severely, prisoner; Thomas Lantry, thigh, severely, prisoner; William J 
Parke, neck, naortally, prisoner; M. A. Peck, legs, severely, prisoner ; A. A. 
McNeil, side, severely ; William R. Hoyt, hand, slightly ; O. P. McNeil, neck, 
slightly. 

Company I. — Sergeants Oscar L. Jones, arm, slightly; Peter K. Bonebrake, 
shoulder, slightly ; Corporal James W. Strong, leg, severely, prisoner ; Pri- 
vates Joseph Brobst, breast, severely, prisoner ; Smith Dunlap, leg, severely, 
prisoner ; John M. McClelland, hip, slightly ; Eri Goodenough, arm, slightly ; 
Enoch Palmer, head, slightly; William G. Reed, leg, slightly; John S. Sny- 
der, leg, severely, prisoner ; James I. Welch, abdomen, severely, prisoner ; 
John Bruett, arm, severely, prisoner. 

Company K. — Corporals George B. Stratton, thigh, severely, prisoner; 
William R. Cowan, leg, slightly ; Privates D. T. Evans, head, slightly ; E. F. 
Henderson, back, severely ; J. C. Roberts, leg, slightly ; John M. Martin, arm, 
slightly; F. M. Playel, leg, severely, prisoner; William H. Coulburn, leg, 
severely, prisoner; Samuel Smith, ankle, severely, prisoner; Alexander 
Jones, head, severely, prisoner; H. C. Haskell, leg, severely, prisoner; 
Ephriam S. Smith, side, severely, prisoner. 

Missing.— Privates John R. Allsup, Co. B ; Francis M. Dyer, Co. B; Clark 
Boon, Co. H; James Wendell, Co. K; Hannibal Rogers, Co, B; Reuben 
Coomes, Co. C; F. M. Gibson, Co. F; Ki-yn De Bruyn, Co. G; John Nurmeyer, 
jr., Co. G; Hans Ferguson, Co. I; David T. Welch, Co. I; George S. Carson, 
Co, B, April 23. These men have all since been accounted for. Nathaniel H. 
Richardson, Co. A, David Dunbar, Co. E, Daniel A. Wisir, Co. G, and Samuel 
M. Tennis, Co. H, were taken prisoners with train near Mark's Mills, April 
23d, 1861. 

All the above casualties, except when another time Is given, occurred on 
the 30th of April. 

Recapitulation.— IsLilled — enlisted men, 8. Wounded — commissioned 
officers, 6; enlisted men, 97. Missing, 12. Total, 123. 
Lost under Major Gibson, 5; prisoners, 4; entire loss on expedition, 133. 



OFFICIAL EEPORTS. 235 

PARTIAL HISTORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Head-qitarters 33d Iowa Infanty VoI/UNTeers, ) 
Mcintosh's Bluff, Ala., May 1, 18G.5. J 

Gen. N. B. Bather, Adjutant- General of loiva: 

General:— I have the honor to make the following report of operations 
of the 33d Iowa Infantry from October 30, 1864. We left Little Rock, Ark., to 
escort a supply train of two hundred wagons to Fort Smith, Ark., a distance 
of 180 miles. We marched to Fort Smith, and returned with the train in 
twenty-nine' days. Number of days marched, twenty-six; entire distance 
traveled three hundred and sixty miles, all of which was accomplished 
without the loss of a single team or soldier. This march was made at the 
time of Gen. Price's retreat from Missouri, and we captured two officers and 
thirty-eight men belonging to his command. 

On the 21st day of January, 1865, the regiment started on an expedition 
from Little Rock to Mt. Elba, Ark., on the Saline river, and returned on the 
4th day of February, 1865, to Little Rock. Distance traveled oiie hundred 
and sixty miles. 

On our return to Little Rock we were ordered to report to Major-General 
Canby at New Orleans. 

Left Little Rock for New Orleans on the 14th day of February, 1865, and 
arrived at the latter place, February 19tli, 1865. From Little Rock to Duvall's 
Bluffs, we were transported by railroad; from the latter place to New 
Orleans, by steamboat. On the 23d day of February, 186.5, we left New 
Orleans on Ponchartrain Railroad, and from the terminus of this road — 
Lakeport— took transports for Navy Cove, Ala. It was at this place that the 
army was organized for the expedition against the city of Mobile. By this 
organization we were transferred from the 7th Army Corps to the 13th. 

On the 17th day of March, 1865, the movement against Mobile commenced, 
the 13th Army Corps moving by land around Mobile Bay, east side. The 
country through which we moved is generally known among citizens as 
" The Wilderness. " We were compelled to make miles of corduroy in order 
to get our trains and artillery through. The distance through " The Wilder- 
ness " (we considered ourselves through when we crossed Fish river) is forty- 
five miles; time occupied seven days. The 16th Army Corps arrived at the 
mouth of Fish river one day in advance of the 13th. On the 25th day of 
March, 1865, the two army corps took up their line of march for Spanish 
Fort, twenty-flve miles north of the mouth of Fish river, and nearly oppo- 
site the city of Mobile, where we arrived on the evening of the 27th of March, 
1865. The enemy's works were completely invested the following morning. 
On the night of the 8th of April, 1865, the enemy evacuated the place, leaving 
all their artillery and munitions of war. They evacuated by water, tlie navy 
having been unable to cut off this way of retreat. 

I append herewith a list of the casualties of the regiment during the sieje. 
The little damage we sustained from the enemy's fire is accounted for in this 
way : During the first night after we invested the place, we succeeded ia 
pushing our skirmishers so close to the enemy's works that their gun- 
ners and sharpshooters could not do us much damage. The gunners could 
not work their guns, and the sharpshooters of the enemy were compelled to 
keeji inside the main works. On the 9th of April, 1865, we left Spanish Fort 



236 OFFICIAL REPORTS. 

for Blakely, twelve miles north, wliicli place had been invested by a portion 
of our forces under command of Major-General Steele. We arrived there in 
the evening, just as the place had been carried by assault. We lay at this 
place until 6 o'clock p. m., April 11th, when we were ordered to retrace our 
steps to Stark's Landing, (near Spanish Fort,) where we arrived at 4 o'clock 
the following morning, and immediately embarked on transports and 
crossed to the opposite side of the bay. That evening we arrived in Mobile, 
the rebels having evacuated the place. 

The following day our division (the 3d) marched from the city of Mobile to 
Wliistler Station, twelve miles; had a slight skirmish with the enemy, and 
captured a considerable amount of i-oUing stock of the Mobile & Ohio Rail- 
road. 

On the 19th day of April, 1865, we left that place and marched to our pres- 
ent camp, forty miles. 

During this campaign we were allowed one six-mule team for everj^ two 
hundred and fifty men. The men carried in their knapsacks a complete 
change of underclothing, an extra pair of shoes, one blanket, one poncho, 
and one shelter tent to every two men, fifty rounds of amunition eacli, one 
spade and one ax to every twelve men, and rations were issued every five 
days. The average number of men for duty in the regiment during the cam- 
paign was five hundred and fifty. The health of the command has been 
very good during the campaign. 

I have the honor to be, Colonel, your obedient servant, 

C. H. MACKEY, Colonel commanding. 
May 1st, 1865. 

List of Castjaltie.s (aZ; ivounded) in TJiirty- Third loiva Infantry Volunteers 
during the Siege of Spanish Fort, Ala. : 
Wm. S. Parmley, Captain Co. B, breast slightly, 
George L. Ledyard, " " G, face, " 

Abraham Daj^, Corporal, " F, foot, " 

Wm. Dingeman, Private, " G, face, " 

Martin Walraven, " " G, right arm, severely. 

John Metz. " " left shoulder, " 

Joseph Dungan, " " G, right hip, " 

G.W.Long, " " B, right leg, slightly. 

Wm. Campbell, 1st Serg't, " C, head, " 

Thos. J. Gooden, Private, " C, right eye, " 
William Harris, " " H, head, mortally. 

Stephen Wharton, " " E, mouth, severely. 

Respectfully submitted, 

C. H. MACKEY, Col. 33d Iowa Infantry. 



CONCLUSION OF HISTORY OF REGIMENT. 



Head-quarters 33d Rehiment Iowa Vot.. Ikft.,") 
Davenport, Iowa, Aug. 8th, 1865. j 

JV. B. Baker, Adjutant General of Toiua: 

Gexeral: I have the honor to make the following report of tho luoA-e- 
ment of my regiment since last report, which left me on Mcintosh's iilufl 



OFFICIAL • REPORTS. 237 

Alabama. On the 1st of June, we received orders to embark on the ocean 
steamer Continental, for Brazos Santiago, Texas ; which order we obeyed, 
and landed on the Brazos Island on the 7th of July. Remained on the 
sland one week, during which time we were badly supplied with water, the 
condenser on the island not being able to furnish sufficient water for the 
number of the troops there. After remaining here one week, we moved on 
to the Rio Grande opposite the town of Bagdad. 

Herfe we remained until the 26th of July, when we received orders from 
Major-General Steele to report to Galveston, Texas, for muster-out of the 
service. "We embarked on the steamer Warrior, on the 1st of July, and 
arrived at Galveston on the 3d, reporting at that place to Major-General 
Granger, who ordered us to proceed to New Orleans, La., to make out our 
rolls for muster-out. Left Galveston on the morning of the 1th of July, and 
arrived at New Orleans on the 7th, reporting to iSIaj or- General Sheridan, 
who transferred us from the 13th Corps to General Canby's command. We 
proceeded immediately to making out our rolls and completed them on the 
17th of July, and on the 18th started for Davenport. Very poor boats were 
furnished us to come up the river on, by reason of which we did not arrive 
in Davenport until the 1st of August. The regiment is being paid off to-day, 
August 8, 1865. 

The health of the command has been good. The three-years recruits of 
my regiment were not mustered out with the old soldiers, but were trans- 
ferred to the 31th Iowa. I wish to call your attention to the fact, that nearly 
all the other regiments are allowed to muster ou.t their recruits. Justice to 
these men of my regiment, requires that they should be mustered out also. 
There is no excuse for keeping a few, and allowing the most of them to be 
mustered out. 

The number of enlisted men mustered out, is 400 ; officers, 30. Total, 430. 
I have the honor to be, General, your obedient sei'vant, 

C. H. MACKEY, Col. commanding regiment. 




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